Paris  - Consumer prices in France fell by 0.4 per cent in January, due primarily to the traditional winter sales held after Christmas, the government's statistics office Insee reported on Friday.

That brought year-on-year inflation to 0.7 per cent, the lowest increase since 1999.

In addition to shoes and clothing, the cost of energy and health services also declined last month. Because of the sharp fall in the price of oil, energy prices have now fallen by nearly 10 per cent in France in the past 12 months, Insee said. (dpa)