French Inflation Eases Less Than Expected in January

A woman, wearing a protective face mask, shops for fruits and vegetables at the Bastille Market in Paris as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, on March 19, 2020. Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

PARIS—French inflation fell less than expected in January as it eased back from a 13-year high on lower prices for manufactured goods due to winter sales, preliminary EU-harmonised data showed on Tuesday.

The INSEE statistics agency said consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in January, giving a 12-month inflation rate of 3.3 percent, down from 3.4 percent in December. Economists polled by Reuters had on average forecast a rate of 3.0 percent.