France reports steady Q3 growth

Source: Xinhua | 2019-10-31

France posted a quarterly growth of 0.3 percent, maintaining a steady economic performance in the third quarter as the two previous ones, national statistics institute said on Wednesday.
Data from the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) showed that in the third quarter, consumer spending was up 0.3 percent compared to the 0.2 percent rise recorded in the second quarter.
Final domestic demand (excluding inventory changes) remained dynamic and contributed to gross domestic product (GDP) growth by growing 0.5 percent, Insee said.
Investment slowed by 0.9 percent in the third quarter from its 1.2 percent gain in the second quarter. The main reason was the tepid growth in household investment, which had inched up by 0.1 percent over the period compared to the 1.6 percent rise in the previous quarter.
Imports grew much faster than exports, which means that foreign trade contributed negatively to GDP growth.
The French government set the growth rate for the whole year of 2019 at 1.4 percent, down from the initial target of 1.7 percent.