French inflation eased more than anticipated, reaching its lowest level in a year in a boost to those at the European Central Bank who say interest-rate increases can soon end. The measure of annual consumer-price changes in the euro zone’s second-largest economy softened to 6% in May from 6.9% in April, data Wednesday showed. That’s a sharper slowdown than the 6.4% gain economists surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated. The result came thanks to a softening of price gains across sectors, particularly in energy. Manufactured goods and services inflation, which are keenly watched by ECB officials, also moderated to 4.1% ... (full story)