Inflation in France unexpectedly climbs to 7.2% in February

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS, Feb 28 (Reuters) – French annual inflation unexpectedly rose to 7.2% in February from 7.0% in January, partly on higher food prices, figures show. preliminary published Tuesday by the statistical agency INSEE.

Preliminary inflation data for February is above Reuters’ forecast of 7.0%.

Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, who expects inflation to peak this summer and then start to subside, has held meetings with French food retailers to find ways to help shoppers cope. to high food price inflation.

Industry data released on Tuesday also showed UK grocery inflation hit 17.1% in the four weeks to February 19 as disruptions to food supply routes caused by the war in Ukraine affecting commodity prices.

“February data shows that French inflation has not yet peaked. Given that underlying global inflation is expected to continue to rise in the coming months, this will give the European Central Bank more ‘arguments for continuing to raise rates beyond the first quarter,’ said the ING economist. Charlotte of Montpellier.

European Central Bank (ECB) Chief Economist Philip Lane told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that while inflationary pressures in the eurozone have started to ease, the ECB will not halt rate hikes. rate until it is sure that price growth will return to around 2%.

The ECB has already promised to hike rates by 50 basis points to 3% in March, and markets expect that rate to approach 4% by the end of 2023.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Christina Fincher, Spanish editing by José Muñoz in the Gdansk newsroom)