PARIS (Reuters) – The French economy should register growth of around 0.1% in the first quarter compared to the previous three months, according to the monthly economic survey of the Banque de France (BdF) published on Wednesday.
The survey, conducted among business leaders, shows that activity continued to hold up well at the start of the year. In February, it rose in industry and services and was “more or less stable” in construction.
“For March, companies are anticipating further growth in industry and services, and a slight drop in activity in the building sector,” indicates the BdF.
Supply difficulties continue to ease quite significantly in construction with only 24% of companies citing them as a problem in February, compared to 31% in January. In industry, these difficulties are stabilizing, with 33% of business leaders in the sector mentioning them.
Business leaders are also reporting a slowdown in the prices of finished products, except in the food industry where price dynamics remain high.
After four months of decline, recruitment difficulties are stabilizing for their part and concern about half of the companies.
The resilience of the French economy in early 2023 should allow the Banque de France to slightly raise its growth forecast for the French economy for this year when updating its quarterly macroeconomic forecasts scheduled for March 20.
The institution said it expects GDP growth of 0.3% in 2023 so far.
(Written by Blandine Hénault, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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