Paris, Feb. 25, (dpa-AFX/GNA) – France’s economic growth eased in the fourth quarter, as initially estimated, revised data from the statistical office Insee revealed on Friday.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.7% sequentially, slower than the 3.1% growth posted in the third quarter. The rate came in line with the estimate published on January 28.
GDP exceeded the pre-crisis level by 0.9% in the fourth quarter.
On the expenditure side, household spending and government expenditure rose 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively. Gross fixed capital formation was up 0.6%.
Exports were up 3.1% and imports gained 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Thus, the contribution of foreign trade to the GDP’s growth was slightly negative, by -0.3 points.
Finally, the inventory changes made a positive contribution of 0.5 points to growth. On average during 2021, the economic activity rebounded strongly by 7.0% after contracting 8.0% in 2020.
Another report from Insee showed that household spending decreased 1.5% in January due to a 2.3% fall in manufactured goods consumption and a 1.2% decrease in food consumption. Economists had forecast household consumption to fall 0.5% after nil growth in December.
In a separate communique, the statistical office said retail sales volume except that of motor vehicles and motorcycles is set to fall 0.9% in January.
In December, the volume of sales in trade decreased 1.2%, following a 1.4% growth in November. From November to January, retail sales are estimated to grow 9.2% from the last year, with a base effect due to the second lockdown.
GNA