French consumer confidence rises

French consumer confidence rose to -36 in September from a revised -38 in July, slightly beating economists' expectations, data…

French consumer confidence rose to -36 in September from a revised -38 in July, slightly beating economists' expectations, data from national statistics institute Insee showed today.

Insee also confirmed gross domestic product in the euro zone's second-biggest economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2009 compared with the previous three months, but revised data for the first quarter.

Instead of shrinking by -1.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter as previously given, Insee said the economy contracted by -1.4 per cent in the first three months of this year versus the previous quarter.

The slight improvement in consumer confidence came two days after French consumer spending figures for August posted a surprise fall.

Those figures raised questions over the robustness of the nascent economic recovery as shoppers showed more reluctance to spend.

Reuters