Who gains purchasing power, who continues to lose it?

The question of purchasing power remains crucial, despite the slowdown in inflation. Here’s why.

Also read: Car and home insurance: a further increase in the premium in 2025

1 – Consumers: not really winners

A priorithis seems to be good news for consumers. In September, prices increased “only” by 1.2% over one year. The surge in inflation, which began at the end of 2021 and which peaked in February 2023 (+ 6.3% in this month alone), seems to be behind us. But not the problems of purchasing power! “Inflation is the variation in prices, warns Mathieu Plane, economist at the French Observatory of Economic Conditions (OFCE). Falling inflation does not mean prices are falling. But they increase more slowly. » Food has increased by more than 20% in three years. It is unlikely to decrease a…