France recorded an annualized inflation of 2 percent in March, up from 1.7 percent a month ago, mainly buoyed by rising prices of manufactured products, the national statistics bureau said Wednesday.
"In March 2011, prices of manufactured products grew strongly," indicating a monthly growth of 1.3 percent or a 0.4-percent increase year-on-year. Such rise was mostly due to the end of winter sales, but also contributed by the growth in prices of oil and food products, the agency said.
Over the same period, energy prices rose once again by 2.4 percent compared to in February, and accelerated from 1.1 percent growth a month earlier; year-on-year, the prices grew by 5.3 percent. In addition, prices of oil products increased as well.
Furthermore, prices of food products went up 0.9 percent from the level recorded in February or by 0.8 percent compared with a year earlier. Besides, services prices inched up slightly also in March.
According to the agency, French core-inflation, excluding changes in food and energy prices, rose by 0.3 percent in March, or 0.7 percent year-on-year, after a monthly increase of 0.1 percent in February.