Rhubarbs are displayed for sale on a market gardener's stall on Rue des Martyrs in Paris, France, May 6, 2025. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

(Reuters) -French consumer prices rose slightly less than expected in October as energy costs declined further and food price rises moderated, preliminary data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Friday.

France's harmonised inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other euro zone countries, was 0.9% year-on-year in October, down from 1.1% in September.

A Reuters poll of 20 analysts had on average expected a rate of 1%, with estimates ranging from 0.8% to 1.1%.

The slowdown was driven by a steeper fall in energy prices, pulled down by both gas and petroleum products costs, INSEE said.

Energy prices dropped at a faster pace year-on-year than the previous month, while food price increases slowed. Service prices rose at the same pace as September, while manufactured goods prices declined at a marginally faster rate than the prior month.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.1% in October after falling 1.0% in September. The slight increase reflected higher service prices, particularly transport services, and to a lesser extent manufactured goods prices.

Inflation measured by France's own consumer price index rose 1.0% over the year through October, down from 1.2% in September.

France has kept inflation below the European Central Bank's 2% target for over a year now.

The 2% target, last updated in 2021, is the ECB's ideal rate for price stability over the medium term.

ECB policymakers are preparing for a December meeting that could reveal whether they risk undershooting their target, according to four sources who spoke to Reuters. The Central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday.

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro. Editing by Mark Potter and Matt Scuffham)