France saw its gross domestic product (GDP) increase by 0.5% compared to the previous quarter, supported by foreign trade while household consumption contracted, INSEE said on Thursday, confirming an initial estimate. . This rebound in French economic activity between April and June follows a sluggish (0% change) in GDP in the first quarter, whose growth was revised down by 0.1 point by the National Institute of statistical.
It is based on the good performance of foreign trade, even if imports were higher than initially estimated, particularly for energy products. On the other hand, household consumption, the traditional driver of growth, fell by 0.5% under the effect of a marked decline in food (-2.8%), still affected by inflation at two digits.
At the same time, the purchasing power of households having increased slightly, under the effect of a reduction in tax levies and an increase in social benefits, the savings rate increased to 18.8%, against 18.2% in the previous quarter – a bad sign for consumption. Business investment decreased slightly (-0.1%), driven down by the construction sector, in a context of rising interest rates intended to combat inflation.
