French businesses' expectations of where inflation will be a year from now eased in the fourth quarter while wage increase expectations rose, a quarterly survey by the French central bank showed on Wednesday.

Executives polled now expect inflation to be running at 3.5% in a year, down from 4.0% in the third quarter, the Bank of France said. Inflation expectations 3-5 years out were unchanged at 2.5%.

Businesses expect base salaries to increase 3.5% over the next year, up from 3% in the third quarter, the survey showed. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Sandra Maler)