PARIS (Reuters) – The French economy should post growth of 0.2% in the first quarter after an increase of 0.1% in the previous quarter, thanks to growth in market services, the Banque de France (BdF) announced on Thursday ) in its monthly economic survey.
In March, the BdF anticipated growth in the first quarter at 0.2%.
“According to the business leaders participating in our survey (…), activity increased in March in market services, particularly those aimed at households, and remained stable in industry and construction,” notes the BdF in its survey of around 8,500 companies.
“We estimate that GDP would increase in the first quarter of 2024 by around +0.2%, (…) driven by services,” she adds.
The prices of raw materials and finished products continue to decline, while tensions in the Red Sea are not leading to an increase in supply tensions overall, indicates the BdF.
The BdF also notes a normalization of price-setting behavior, with the frequency of price increases returning for all sectors to their pre-Covid levels.
Furthermore, the balance of opinion on order books in the aeronautics sector is very high at 60 points, compared to a 15-year average of 40 points, while aircraft orders are resuming after the pandemic.
(Written by Augustin Turpin, Corentin Chappron, edited by Sophie Louet)
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