Inflation eases in France and Italy
French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau. Photo: Bloomberg
French inflation eased below 3pc for the first time in two-and-a-half years and Italy reported a lower-than-expected reading, confirming a trend that has tipped the European Central Bank toward cutting interest rates.
Consumer prices in France, the euro area’s second-largest economy, rose 2.4pc in March from a year earlier after a 3.2pc gain the previous month, statistics agency Insee said. The slowdown was sharper than the 2.8pc forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
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