PARIS, Oct 10 (Reuters) – The French economy probably grew by 0.25% in the third quarter compared to the previous one, the Banque de France (BdF) announced on Monday, which revised slightly downwards its previous estimate of 0.3% growth in gross domestic product (GDP), mainly due to weak activity in industry.
“In an economic environment marked by the energy crisis and supply and recruitment difficulties, activity continues to resist overall, but industry is more affected than other sectors”, writes the Banque de France in its new point of conjuncture.
Activity in industry, a sector in difficulty, remained stable in September, while in services it continued to grow, according to the BdF survey of business leaders.
According to the Banque de France, like last month, business leaders reported increased uncertainty, mainly due to concerns about soaring energy prices and availability.
For the month of October, they anticipate stability in their activity in industry and probably slower growth than in previous months in services, the main driver of the economy.
Last week, INSEE said in a separate survey that it forecast growth of 0.2% for the third quarter and stagnation in GDP for the October-December period.
The growth of the French economy stood at 0.5% in the second quarter. (Tassilo Hummel and Leigh Thomas report; French version Claude Chendjou)