Bank of France Survey: The Proportion of Companies Cutting Prices has Reached the Highest Level in Nearly Three Years, and Inflationary Pressures have Eased

France’s central bank said that inflationary pressures in France are continuing to ease, with fewer companies raising prices and some even lowering prices.
The bank’s monthly survey of 8,500 companies showed that only 8% of industrial firms raised prices in June, the lowest percentage in more than two years, while the proportion of firms that cut prices hit a nearly three-year high of 6%.
Fewer companies in the construction sector raised prices last month than in May, while in the services sector, the indicator held steady.
Bank of France Governor Villeroy said on Tuesday after the release of the survey that the pace of CPI slowing next year is expected to be quite pronounced, even though gains in some core consumer goods and services may be more sustained.
The signs that the euro zone may have passed the worst of soaring inflation escalated debate over when the European Central Bank will stop raising interest rates.