France’s economic growth reached 0.3% in the second quarter, driven by stocks and a slight rebound in household consumption, INSEE said by publishing its first estimate for the period.
This moderate increase in gross domestic product (GDP) between April and June, in a very uncertain national and international context, is greater than the forecast of the National Statistics Institute, which anticipated growth of 0.2% after +0.1% in the first quarter.
As at the start of the year, it was therefore the stocks that led to growth with a positive contribution of 0.5 points, after +0.7 point in the first quarter.
Stocks represent the goods produced but not yet sold at the end of a given period, in the case of aeronautical and automotive equipment. An increase in stocks may mean that a boom in demand is made in anticipation. Or, less favorably, that the manufactured products did not find a taker.
Outside stocks, however, the final domestic demand stagnated. A traditional pillar of growth, household consumption has slightly rebounded, 0.1% after a decline of 0.3% in the first quarter, driven by increased consumption of food products.
“This recovery can be explained in particular due to the positioning of the Easter holidays at the end of April and a favorable weather in April and May,” said INSEE.
Households have also consumed more services, while mild temperatures, however, weighed on energy consumption, which fell 2.4% (after +0.8%).
In April and June, investments sunk in the red (-0.3% after -0.1%), penalized in particular by construction.
In an environment marked by the trade war initiated by the United States in April, the contribution of foreign trade to growth has remained negative, of -0.2 point after -0.5 points, the slight rebound in exports having been offset by an acceleration of imports.
Posted on July 30 at 07:40 am, AFP
