French consumer spending declined last month when it had been expected to rise, national statistics office Insee said today, raising questions over the robustness of nascent economic recovery.
Consumer spending, one of the main drivers of France's economy, fell -1.0 per cent month-on-month in August, well below a consensus forecast for a 0.6 per cent rise after a fall of 1.2 per cent in July, data from INSEE showed.
Sales of textiles and leather goods showed the sharpest fall and were down 3.8 per cent, while spending in the car manufacturing sector fell 1.2 per cent.
In separate data released today, INSEE said French firms' business confidence rose to 85 in September, above a consensus forecast of 81, from an upwardly revised 79 in July (no statistics were released for August).
France, along with Germany, surprised financial markets with a return to economic growth in the second quarter of this year, and INSEE said the rebound was led by a rise in consumer spending.
But economists fear rising unemployment could threaten the fragile recovery.
Reuters