France registered an unexpected contraction in the third quarter as exports remained depressed and total production relapsed, according to data published on Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics Insee.
Specifically, the French gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, after having registered 0.5% growth in the second quarter. Consensus had forecast growth of 0.1%.
Insee noted that final domestic demand decelerated, total production relapsed, household consumption slowed down, investment weakened once again and that exports were "still depressed" though imports continued to increase.
Following the data release, the second largest Eurozone economy's Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici told RTL that the third quarter contraction "is not an indicator of decline" and insisted on the previous forecast of 0.1% GDP growth for 2013.
Source: LiveCharts
Specifically, the French gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, after having registered 0.5% growth in the second quarter. Consensus had forecast growth of 0.1%.
Insee noted that final domestic demand decelerated, total production relapsed, household consumption slowed down, investment weakened once again and that exports were "still depressed" though imports continued to increase.
Following the data release, the second largest Eurozone economy's Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici told RTL that the third quarter contraction "is not an indicator of decline" and insisted on the previous forecast of 0.1% GDP growth for 2013.
Source: LiveCharts
