PARIS—French inflation jumped to a record high in April, driven by surging energy prices, preliminary data showed on Friday, putting pressure on newly re-elected president Emmanuel Macron to enact anti-inflation measures promised during his campaign.
The INSEE statistics agency said consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in April, for an annual rate of 5.4 percent, the highest since France began using European Union methodology in the early 1990s. Inflation had been 5.1 percent in March.
The increase, boosted by 26.6 percent yearly increase in energy prices but also higher prices for services and manufactured goods, beat average expectations in a Reuters poll of 17 economists for inflation to remain unchanged.