French inflation smashes 13-year high in November

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According to a preliminary estimate released by the INSEE statistics office on Tuesday based on EU harmonized data, French inflation jumped unexpectedly in November to its highest level in 13 years.

According to INSEE, consumer prices increased 0.4 percent from the previous month, resulting in a 12-month inflation rate of 3.4 percent, the highest since September 2008.

The outcome was marginally better than a Reuters survey of 17 experts, who predicted that inflation would remain constant at 3.2 percent this month.

The November increase was almost entirely driven by rising energy prices, which were up 21.6 percent year over year, following a global pattern.

Consumer spending declined 0.4 percent in October from September, according to INSEE, attributable to a 1.8 percent reduction in spending on manufactured products.

Economists had predicted that expenditure would remain flat on average. Consumer expenditure was 1.8 percent lower than pre-crisis levels at the end of 2019, according to INSEE.

Story by : Norvisi Mawunyegah