11 August 2017

2017- n° 213

In July 2017, consumer prices decreased by 0.3% over a month and rose by 0.7% year on year Consumer price index - final results - July 2017

In July 2017, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) declined by 0.3% over a month, after a stability in June. Seasonally adjusted, it was unchanged for the second consecutive month. Year on year, consumer prices rose as much as in June (+0.7%).

Over a month, the decrease in prices came from a significant downturn in manufactured product prices due to the summer sales and from a further drop in energy prices. Contrariwise, services prices accelerated sharply owing to rising airfares and accommodation prices during summer holidays. Food prices recovered slightly after a downturn in the previous month.

Manufactured products prices dropped seasonally in July (−2.9% as in July 2016; −0.4% year-on-year) due to summer sales involving especially clothing and footwear (−14.8% against −14.2% in July 2016; +0.9% year on year). To a lesser extent, the prices of some other types of products diminished with summer sales, such as travel goods (−5.0%; +0.8% year on year), textile household articles (−2.9%; −0.1% year on year), furniture and furnishings (−2.5%; +0.3% year on year), household appliances (−1.3%; −2.3% year on year) and audio-visual, photographic and information processing equipment (−1.0%; −2.3% year on year). In addition, the prices of health products continued to decrease slightly (−0.1%; −2.0% year on year). However, the prices of new motor cars increased a little (+0.2%) owing in particular to tariff changes for some manufacturers.

In July 2017, energy prices declined for the fifth consecutive month (−1.3% after −1.5% in May and −1.1% in June). Year on year, they increased by +1.9%, as in the previous month. The further monthly decline in energy prices came from that of petroleum products (−1.5% after −2.2%) and of natural gas and town gas (−3.9%; +4.4% year-on-year). Electricity prices have been unchanged since August 2016.

Every year in July, services prices grow during summer holidays (+1.0% as in July 2016, +1.0% year on year). Indeed, the prices of accommodation services increased by 10.5 % over a month, barely more than in July 2016 (+10.3%). Likewise, airfares leapt seasonally in July 2017 (+21.8% over a month against +21.7% in July 2016, +2.5% over a year), as well as package holidays prices (+17,0%; +2.5% year on year). Moreover, insurance prices picked up (+0.4%, +2.4% year-on-year) mostly because of the end of promotional offers on dwelling insurance.

In July 2017, food prices slightly recovered slightly (+0.1%) after a seasonal decrease in June (–0.3%). Over a year they rose by 0.7% after +0.8% in June. The slight monthly increase came from that of non fresh products prices (+0.2% over a month after +0.1%, +0.8% over a year), especially owing to a rebound in the prices of bread and cereals (+0.2%) and alcoholic beverages (+0.2%) and to a slight acceleration in the prices of milk, cheese and eggs (+0.2%). Moreover meat prices increased slightly (+0.1%, +1.2% year on year). On the other hand, fresh products prices decreased again (−0.6% after −2.3% in June ; +0.4% over a year), mostly because of fresh fruits (−0.7%) and fresh vegetables (−0.7%).

In July 2017, the core inflation indicator (ISJ) remained stable after a 0.1% rise in June. Over a year, it rose by 0.5% slightly faster than in June (+0.4%). The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) decreased by 0.4% over a month ; year on year it increased by 0.8% as in June.

Compared with the provisional estimates published on 28 July 2017, the month-on-month and year-on-year changes in the CPI and in the HICP have been confirmed.