Smaller energy price rises keep inflation in check
Consumer confidence eases further in December

PARIS, Jan 4 Reuters Inflation in France unexpectedly dropped well below 7 in December from a record high a month earlier, data showed on Wednesday, the latest sign that slowing energy price rises are helping Europe overcome the worst of the inflation crisis.

The French data added to recent evidence of easing price pressures in the euro zone after Germany39;s inflation fell for a second month in a row in December, and following lower Spanish inflation figures released last week.

French bond yields eased and European stocks gained after the new data, on the prospect that Europe39;s inflation crisis may be subsiding.

The inflation rate in France fell to 6.7 in December, according to preliminary EUharmonised data from the national statistics office INSEE. That was down from 7.1 in November and below the average forecast for 7.2 in a Reuters poll of economists39; expectations.

Energy price increases were the lowest since September 2021, rising 15.1 compared with 18.4 in November as wholesale gas prices fell across Europe in recent weeks amid record high temperatures.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Inter radio that inflation would see a downward trend over the course of 2023. He has previously said inflation would remain high until midyear before falling back.

In the short term, energy prices are likely to add to inflation pressures in January as…