Global| May 02 2008French PPI Sees Gathering Momentum
Summary
French producer prices again are showing over-the-top inflation. The three-month overall rate is a 4.2% pace but that represents some deceleration from 6.6% over six months and it is below the 5.5% Yr/Yr rate. Still, inflation is up [...]
French producer prices again are showing over-the-top
inflation. The three-month overall rate is a 4.2% pace but that
represents some deceleration from 6.6% over six months and it is below
the 5.5% Yr/Yr rate. Still, inflation is up sharply from its year ago
annual rate of 2.1%. And, in the quarter-to-date the overall PPI rate
is still up at a 6% annual rate. The chart shows the halting roller
coaster that French PPI inflation has been riding.
Consumer prices at the producer level have stayed subdued
throughout, partly because consumer demand has been slack. Intermediate
prices are running up strongly with all the increases in energy metals
and other commodity prices. Investment goods, which have been in the
booming sector in Europe, have generally kept price tends in check. But
investment goods prices have accelerated slightly over three-months and
at 1.4% are moderate. Core PPI inflation has reversed a declining trend
and accelerated to 2.6% over three-months. At 1.8%, its Yr/Yr pace is
still under the overall inflation ceiling desired by the ECB- a ceiling
that formally refers only to the HICP but is applicable up and down the
inflation transmission line.
| France PPI | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| m/m | Saar | |||||||
| France | Mar-08 | Feb-08 | Jan-08 | 3-Mo | 6-Mo | Yr/Yr | Y/Y Yr Ago | Qtr-2-Date |
| Total | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 4.2% | 6.6% | 5.2% | 2.1% | 6.0% |
| Consumer | 0.2% | 0.0% | -0.3% | -0.4% | -0.2% | 0.4% | -0.3% | -1.2% |
| Intermediate | 0.3% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 6.0% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 4.7% | 4.7% |
| Investment | -0.1% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1.5% |
| PPI excl Food and Energy | 0.1% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 2.6% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 2.7% | 2.1% |
Robert Brusca
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Robert A. Brusca is Chief Economist of Fact and Opinion Economics, a consulting firm he founded in Manhattan. He has been an economist on Wall Street for over 25 years. He has visited central banking and large institutional clients in over 30 countries in his career as an economist. Mr. Brusca was a Divisional Research Chief at the Federal Reserve Bank of NY (Chief of the International Financial markets Division), a Fed Watcher at Irving Trust and Chief Economist at Nikko Securities International. He is widely quoted and appears in various media. Mr. Brusca holds an MA and Ph.D. in economics from Michigan State University and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan. His research pursues his strong interests in non aligned policy economics as well as international economics. FAO Economics’ research targets investors to assist them in making better investment decisions in stocks, bonds and in a variety of international assets. The company does not manage money and has no conflicts in giving economic advice.
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