French inflation surges, adding to the economy’s mounting pressures - ING Think

French inflation jumped to 3.0% in September, significantly more than expected, mainly driven by energy. Higher inflation will weigh on purchasing power again at a time when consumption is weakening and rising interest rates are exacerbating France’s fiscal difficulties French inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, rose more than expected to 3.0% year-on-year in September, up from 2.4% in August. The acceleration was even more pronounced for the harmonised index, which increased from 2.6% to 3.4%. The figure was also higher than Insee’s latest forecast, which only two weeks ago projected HICP inflation of 2.9% in September. The increase was primarily driven by energy prices, which rose by 21.2% year-on-year, following a 16.