Growth: GDP grew by 0.3% in the second quarter, better than expected
France's economic growth reached 0.3% in the second quarter, driven by inventories and a slight rebound in household consumption, INSEE indicated on Wednesday, July 30, in 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 higher than the forecast of the National Institute of Statistics, which anticipated growth of 0.2% after +0.1% in the first quarter.
As at the beginning of the year, inventories drove growth, with a positive contribution of 0.5 points, after a 0.7-point gain in the first quarter. Inventories represent goods produced but not yet sold at the end of a given period, in this case, aeronautical and automotive equipment. A rise in inventories can mean that production is being increased in anticipation of a boom in demand. Or, less favorably, that the manufactured products have not found buyers.
Excluding inventories, however, final domestic demand stagnated. Household consumption, a traditional pillar of growth, rebounded slightly, by 0.1% after a 0.3% decline in the first quarter, driven by increased consumption of food products.
"This recovery can be explained in particular by the timing of the Easter holidays at the end of April and favorable weather in April and May," explained the INSEE.
Households also consumed more services, while mild temperatures weighed on energy consumption, which fell by 2.4% (after +0.8%).
In April and June, investments fell into 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 remained negative, at -0.2 points after -0.5 points, the slight rebound in exports having been offset by an acceleration in imports.
La Croıx
