French inflation accelerates in July, reaffirming the broader trend in the region

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July preliminary CPI +2.1% vs +1.8% y/y expectedPrior +1.8%July preliminary HICP +2.4% vs +2.1% y/y expectedPrior +2.0%It's not a good look with the rise in headline inflation being driven by a re-acceleration in service prices and energy prices for the most part.On the former, there was a notable bump in prices for accommodation services and communication services. Meanwhile, the latter shows a rise in the prices of gas and petroleum products.Even on a monthly estimate, headline inflation was seen up 0.6% in July and that is a notable bounce from the -0.3% estimate in June. So much for hope that the ceasefire deal between the US and Iran at the end of June will provide a brief respite. It just isn't showing up in the numbers here, as well as that across the region so far.Inflation estimates for Spain and Germany also reaffirm stronger price pressures in July. And that will just add more pressure for the ECB to act next in September in raising interest rates further.Circling back to the report above, the breakdown shows food prices holding steady at 0.9% in July - similar to last month. Meanwhile, energy prices were seen nudging up to 12.4% compared to 11.0% in the month before. And services inflation was also seen climbing back up in July to 2.3%, up from 1.9% in June. This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.