PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The French economy rebounded in the second quarter, avoiding a recession, driven by robust consumption and exports, flash data from the statistical office INSEE showed Thursday.
Gross domestic product grew 0.2 percent sequentially, in contrast to the 0.1 percent fall in the first quarter. The rate came in line with expectations.
Household consumption rose 0.2 percent, following a 0.3 percent drop. At the same time, the increase in government spending rose to 0.4 percent from 0.3 percent.
Conversely, gross fixed capital formation dropped at a pace of 0.3 percent after declining 0.8 percent in the preceding period.
Overall, domestic demand excluding inventories contributed +0.1 points to GDP growth, after a 0.2 points drop in the first quarter.
Exports rebounded 2.6 percent, reversing a 3.1 percent drop in the prior quarter. The increase in exports outpaced 0.8 percent rise in imports. As a result, foreign trade provided 0.6 points to GDP growth.
Another data from the statistical office showed that household spending grew at a faster pace in June on energy and food consumption. Household spending moved up 0.4 percent after a 0.3 percent rise in May.
Energy consumption was up 1.4 percent and food consumption rebounded 0.6 percent. Meanwhile, consumption of engineered goods fell 0.2 percent.
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