France's consumer prices index (CPI) fell by 0.5 percent in January from a month earlier on a drop in manufacturing costs, the country's Statistics Institute Bureau INSEE said Wednesday.

The January price fall stemmed mainly from a 2.3-percent decline in manufactured goods as clothing prices fell sharply due to winter sales, INSEE 's monthly report showed.

Food costs also went down by 0.1 percent last month due to "a seasonally decrease in fresh foodstuff prices."

The January CPI rose by 1.2 percent year-on-year, according to the INSEE.

However, after four consecutive months of decline, prices of petroleum products rose by 1.3 percent with the total energy costs grew by 1.8 percent on increasing electricity and gas prices.