Consumer spending in France increased more than economists expected in May, data released by statistical office Insee showed Friday.
Consumer spending increased 0.6 percent on an annual basis in May, faster than the 0.1 percent growth economists expected.
Spending on energy products climbed 5.8 percent annually, while that on engineered goods rose 0.6 percent during the month. There was a 1.2 percent annual rise in spending on automobiles, and a 0.2 percent gain in spending on manufactured goods, data showed.
Month-on-month, households' expenditure on goods moved up 0.4 percent in May, while economists expected spending to remain unchanged. In April, there was a 0.7 percent sequential rise in spending.
Separately, the agency said output prices in France increased 2.2 percent year-on-year in May, slower than the 2.7 percent growth seen in April. Economists expected the growth rate to remain unchanged. Month-on-month, producer prices decreased 1 percent during the month, while economists were looking for a 0.5 percent fall.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com