PARIS (Reuters) – French inflation slowed in January to its lowest rate in nearly a year as recent energy price hikes eased, the INSEE official statistics agency said on Thursday, confirming a preliminary estimate.

Consumer prices fell 0.6 percent in January, giving a 12-month rate of 1.4 percent, down from 1.9 percent in December and the lowest since February 2018.

INSEE said that energy prices rose only 1.9 percent in January over 12 months, down from 8.0 percent in December as oil prices fell back.

As a result, underlying inflation, which excludes volatile prices like those for energy, was stable in January for the third month in a row at 0.7 percent over one year.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Bate Felix)