France's annual inflation rises to 6.2% in February

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - France annual consumer inflation increased to 6.2% in February, according to provisional data released on Tuesday.

The figure was up from 6% in January, driven by higher prices of food and services, French statistical office Insee said.

Food prices jumped 14.5% year-on-year in February, accelerated from a 13.3% hike in January.

Services prices, meanwhile, increased by 2.9%. The figure was 2.6% a month ago.

On the contrary, energy price hike eased in February to 14% from 16.3% in January.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices index went up by 0.9% in February, following a 0.4% gain the previous month.

Separately, Insee announced that France's gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 0.1% for the fourth quarter of 2022.

French economy had expanded 0.2% in the third quarter and 0.5% in the second quarter of last year.

Household consumption fell by 1.2% after growing 0.4% in the previous quarter, pulled down by consumption of goods.

In 2022, France's GDP grew 2.6% following a 6.8% increase in 2021.