PARIS (MktNews) - French consumer prices bounced back 0.3% in February, in line with consensus forecasts, as higher meat, oil, tobacco and tourism prices outweighed declines for fresh produce and health care, according to unadjusted preliminary data released Tuesday by the national statistics institute Insee. The rebound pushed the annual rate up to +1.4% after an unexpected 0.4% drop in January cut the yearly rate to +1.2%. The seasonally adjusted CPI rose 0.1% on the month, for an annual increase of 1.4% as well, after +1.3% in January. Hotel and air travel costs tend higher during the winter school vacations. France's seasonally adjusted monthly core inflation rate, which excludes administered prices and volatile sectors like food and energy, was flat on the month after +0.4% in January, but the annual rate accelerated to +1.7%, due to a negative base effect linked to the 0.6% monthly drop in February 2000. The EU harmonized inflation rate rose 0.3% on the month after -0.5% in January, leaving the annual rate steady at +1.4%. Energy prices rebounded 0.7% in February after -4.8% in January, due mainly to a 1.3% upturn in oil prices (after -7.6%). Excluding energy, the CPI was up 0.2% on the month, for an annual gain of 1.4% after +1.2% in January. Fresh produce prices fell back 1.0% from a 1.3% spike in January. (In February 2000 they rose 1.0%). But other food prices continued higher as expected, rising 0.7% after +0.5%, led by a "marked rise" for all meats, Insee noted. As a result, overall food prices rose 0.4% after +0.7% in January. Clothes prices inched up 0.1% on the month after the expiration of seasonal discounts on February 20, and other manufactured goods prices rose 0.2%, giving a 0.1% rise for the overall manufactured products category after -0.9% in January. Services prices rose 0.1% on the month, as higher hotel and air fares outweighed lower telecommunication and health care costs, after a 0.2% decline in January.