French inflation jumps to highest rate since 1991

PARIS, June 30 (AFP): French inflation accelerated to its highest level since at least 1991 in June, official data showed Thursday, as food and energy costs have surged since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Consumer prices jumped 5.8 per cent compared to the same month last year, with energy soaring 33.1 per cent and food rising 5.7 per cent, statistics agency Insee said in its preliminary release.
Price growth was 6.5 per cent when measured using the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices-the preferred yardstick of the European Central Bank, tasked with checking inflation in the 19-nation eurozone.
Despite the increase, "this data is probably one of the first indications that we are approaching peak inflation" in France, ING analyst Charlotte de Montpellier said.
She added that price growth should begin slowing by the end of 2022 as energy prices stabilise and the economy slows from its sharp Covid-19 rebound.
But a politically divided parliament may struggle to maintain support to households that has kept inflation milder than in other European countries.