French growth was well established at 0.5% in the second quarter, INSEE said on Wednesday, confirming its first estimate and the economy’s rebound after a 0.2% drop in GDP earlier in the year.
This revival of growth is explained, in particular, by a rebound in household consumption (+0.3% compared to a fall of 1.2% in the first quarter), “especially in accommodation and restaurants (+13.4 % after -2.6%)”, details the INSEE.
To keep up their spending despite inflation, which spiked sharply in the second quarter, the French dipped into their savings.
Consequently, “the household savings rate falls sharply: it stands at 15.5%, after 16.7% in the first quarter of 2022,” specifies the National Institute of Statistics. However, in 2019, before the Covid outbreak, the average level of this rate was even lower, at 15%.
Excess growth of 2.5% by 2022
The purchasing power of households, for its part, continued to fall in the second quarter (-1.1%, compared to -1.6% in the first three months of the year).
Traditional weak point of France, foreign trade has this time contributed positively to the evolution of GDP (gross domestic product) between April and June. Exports increased slightly (+0.9%), while imports remained stable (0%).
Based on these data, INSEE estimates excess growth (the growth we would get if the economy stagnated for the rest of the year) at 2.5% by 2022.
A figure identical to the government’s growth forecast, but slightly more optimistic than the expectations of the Banque de France and the IMF (+2.3%).
Source: BFM TV
