French and German Inflation Fails the EUR ahead of U.S Inflation Figures

Inflation was in focus on Tuesday, with finalized German and French inflation figures released early in the European session.

German Consumer Prices

In June, the annual rate of inflation softened from 2.5% to 2.3%, which was in line with prelim figures. Month-on-month, consumer prices rose by increased by 0.4%, following a 0.5% increase in May.

According to Destatis,

• The prices of goods (total) increased by 3.1% between June 2020 and June 2021.
• Energy prices were up by 9.4%, which was attributed temporary special effects, in particular the CO2 charge introduced at the start of the year.
• Food prices were up a below-average 1.2% in June, however, compared with June 2020.
• The prices for services (total) increased by 1.6% in June compared with the same month a year earlier.

French Consumer Prices

The annual rate of inflation picked up from 1.4% to 1.5% in June, which was in line with prelim figures. Month-on-month, French consumer prices increased by 0.1% following a 0.3% rise in May. This was down from a prelim 0.2%.

According to Insee.Fr,

• The prices for services rose by just 0.1%, after a 0.3% increase in May.
• Food prices hit reverse, falling by 0.7% following a 0.5% increase in May.
• Tobacco prices were stable in the month.
• Year-on-year, the uptick in consumer prices came from a pickup in prices for manufactured goods and prices for energy.
• Manufactured goods prices increased by 0.5%, with energy prices up 1.1%. Prices for manufactured goods and energy had risen by 0.1% and by 0.5% respectively in May.

Market Impact

Ahead of today’s trade data, the EUR had risen to a pre-stat and current day high $1.18753 before hitting reverse ahead of the numbers.

In response to today’s numbers, the EUR rose to a post-stat high $1.18655 before falling to a post-stat and current day low $1.18412.

At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.13% to $1.18451.

Next Up

U.S inflation figures for June. We will expect plenty of market interest in the numbers…