French preliminary inflation at 1.8% in December, below forecasts

(Reuters) -French consumer prices rose less then anticipated in December, preliminary data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Tuesday.

France's harmonized inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other euro zone countries, was 1.8% year-on-year in December, up from 1.7% in November but below the average rise of 1.9% expected by economists surveyed by Reuters.

Prices of manufactured goods fell 0.4% year-on-year in December, compared with a 0.3% decrease in November. Energy prices rose by 1.2% after falling 0.7% in the prior month, the agency reported.

Service and tobacco price inflation held steady, with prices rising at the same rate year-on-year as in November, INSEE said.

Compared to the November numbers, consumer prices saw a slight increase mainly due to higher service prices, affected by transport prices, and a rise in energy prices, especially petroleum products.

Inflation measured by France's own consumer price index (CPI) was 1.3% over the year through December, in line with the 1.3% reported in November.

(Reporting by Anna Peverieri in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)

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