French consumer prices declined for the third straight month in March, data from the statistical office Insee showed Wednesday.
Consumer prices fell 0.1 percent year-on-year in March, slower than February's 0.3 percent decrease. This was the third consecutive fall. Economists had forecast prices to remain flat in March.
Month-on-month, consumer prices rose 0.7 percent, in line with expectations.
The core consumer prices grew by 0.1 percent month-on-month after a 0.2 percent rise in February. Year-on-year, core inflation was 0.2 percent.
The harmonized index of consumer prices increased by 0.7 percent on a monthly basis in March, slightly slower than a 0.8 percent rise forecast by economists.
It was stable year-on-year after registering a 0.3 percent fall in February. The annual rate matched economists' expectations.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com