The French economy rebounded as estimated in the second quarter supported by household spending, investment and exports, detailed reported from the statistical office Insee showed on Wednesday.
Gross domestic product grew 0.5 percent sequentially, reversing the 0.2 percent fall in the first quarter. The rate came in line with the first estimate published on July 29.
Household spending climbed 0.3 percent, after a 1.2 percent fall a quarter ago. At the same time, growth in gross fixed capital formation slowed to 0.2 percent from 0.4 percent. General government consumption was down 0.3 percent.
Foreign trade slowed for the second quarter in a row. Exports grew 0.9 percent after rising 1.8 percent, while imports remained flat following a 1.9 percent increase. Thus, the contribution of foreign trade to GDP growth was positive this quarter by 0.3 points.
In July, household consumption dropped 0.8 percent, in contrast to the 0.1 percent rise in June, another report from Insee showed Thursday.
The decline was mainly due to the 1.4 percent decrease in consumption of manufactured goods. At the same time, food consumption slid 0.4 percent and energy consumption dropped 0.4 percent.
