(Reuters) -French consumer prices rose 1.1% in September from a year ago, slightly less than economists anticipated as service prices rose and energy costs fell, preliminary data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Tuesday.
Service prices, including healthcare, internet and other forms of communication, climbed 2.4% year-on-year and rose from 2.1% from August.
Energy prices were 4.5% lower year-on-year, following a 6.2% drop the month before, the agency said.
France’s harmonised inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other euro zone countries, was 1.1% higher year-on-year in September, up from 0.8% in August and below the average rise of 1.3% expected by economists surveyed by Reuters.
Tobacco prices are expected to rise 4.1% year-on-year in September, from 4.0% in August, while food prices are expected to increase 1.7% on the same basis, from 1.6% in August.
Inflation measured by France’s own consumer price index rose 1.2% over the year through September, up from 0.9% in August.
(Reporting by Mathias de Rozario in Gdansk; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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