The French consumer prices index for April showed a month-on-month rise of 0.4 pct, compared with a rise of 0.3 pct in March, according to figures from the Insee statistics office. Year-on-year CPI was up 1.7 pct, against a 1.5 pct rise in March. The April month-on-month and year-on-year increases were in line with those forecast by economists. Underlying 'core' inflation, which excludes products with either regulated or highly-volatile prices, rose 0.2 pct in April after an 0.3 pct rise in March. Food and tobacco increased 0.2 pct on the month, manufactured goods were up 0.3 pct and services prices were 0.2 pct higher. The harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) calculated to allow comparison with other EU members was up 0.4 pct month-on-month and rose 2.0 pct over the year, higher than the respective rises of 0.3 pct and 1.8 pct expected by economists