French Economy Contracts In Q3 As Estimated
2013-12-24 11:42:59
The French economy shrank 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, final results released by the statistical office Insee showed Tuesday, confirming the preliminary estimates.
However, the statistical office slightly revised up the GDP growth figure for second quarter to 0.6 percent from the previously estimated 0.5 percent.
The expenditure side breakdown of GDP revealed that investments declined at a steady pace of 0.4 percent. Private consumption grew 0.1 percent and government spending rose 0.2 percent, both at a slower pace than a quarter ago.
Overall, the contribution of final domestic demand, excluding inventory changes, to GDP was neutral.
Exports fell 1.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, whereas imports rose 0.9 percent. Consequently, the foreign trade balance contributed negatively to overall GDP.