The French consumer prices index for July showed a fall of 0.2 pct compared with a 0.2 pct increase in June, according to figures from the Insee statistics office Year-on-year CPI was up 1.7 pct, the same increase seen in previous month Economists polled by AFX News expected CPI to remain stable on the month, and said CPI was seen up 1.9 pct over the year Insee said that since the start of the year prices rose/fell x.x pct Underlying 'core' inflation, which excludes products with either regulated or highly-volatile prices, fell by 0.3 pct in July, after a 0.1 pct rise in June Food and tobacco declined 0.7 pct on the month and manufactured goods were down 1.9 pct, while services CPI was 0.8 pct higher The harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), calculated to allow comparison with other EU members, was down 0.2 pct month-on-month and rose 1.8 pct over the year