France's prices grow by 0.2 pct in December 2015

The French consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.2 percent in December 2015 as increasing prices of services and manufacturing products drove up the country's inflation rate, official data showed on Wednesday.

On a yearly basis, the CPI rose by 0.2 percent, the national statistics bureau Insee noted in its monthly report.

Last month, the rise in prices stemmed mainly from a seasonal increase of 0.6 percent in costs of some services, thanks to a 2.2-percent rise in transport and communication activities. Manufactured products also recorded a positive performance after they grew by 0.3 percent over the period.

Insee data showed a further drop in energy prices and fresh foodstuffs in December compared to a month earlier.

For the seventh successive month, costs of energy lost 1.2 percent while those of food were down by 0.3 percent due to a drop in fresh products as "unusually mild temperatures have stimulated the supply of fresh vegetables whose prices fell notably in December," according to the statistics agency.

In December 2015, the core inflation indicator inched up by 0.1 percent. Year-on-year, it rose by 0.8 percent, its highest level since February 2014. Endit