France GDP To Post Meager Growth In Q4: Bank Of France

(RTTNews) - The French economy is on the course to continue expanding at the end of the year but at a modest pace, the Bank of France estimated based on a monthly survey.

Gross domestic product will expand around 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the Bank of France said Thursday. The bank forecast GDP to be up slightly in November and virtually stable in December.

This would follow the 0.2 percent growth posted in the third quarter. The survey suggested that activity in industry progressed a little more strongly in November than anticipated by business leaders last month.

There were marked improvements in the pharmaceutical industry, electrical equipment, computer and electronic and optical products.

Services activity also increased in November after disruptions caused by fuel shortages in October.

For December, business leaders forecast near-stability in industry but with a strong disparity between sectors. Services activity is forecast to continue growing, while activity in construction is projected to decline in December.

The International Monetary Fund forecast France's GDP growth to slow sharply to 2.5 percent this year and to 0.7 percent next year.

Last week, S&P Global downgraded France's rating outlook to 'negative' from 'stable', citing risks to public finances from energy aid.