French PPI In November Rose To 0.5% After A Monthly Decline Of 0.3%

France_Electricity — A general view shows France's oldest Electricite de France nuclear power station, outside the eastern French village of Fessenheim, near Colmar on Nov. 14, 2013. Reuters/Vincent Kessler

Producer price index, or PPI, in France rose 0.5 percent in November compared to a drop of 0.3 percent in the previous month, mainly aided by a hike in electricity prices, French statistics agency Insee said Friday.

Analysts had expected the PPI to stay unchanged at November’s reading in the euro zone’s second-largest economy. France’s annual CPI rose 0.8 percent, as expected, after a 0.7 percent growth in October.

Insee attributed the surprise increase in producer prices to a 4.1 percent seasonal rise in electricity prices, while prices of manufactured products remained almost stable or slightly decreased during the period, in line with the deflationary pressures prevailing in the region since more than two years.