France's economic growth picks up in second quarter
With the international business climate uncertain due to the trade war launched by the United States in April, foreign trade made a negative contribution of 0.2 percent to overall gross domestic product (GDP).
That was an improvement from the 0.5 percent in the first three months of the year, with a slight recovery of exports outweighed by a faster acceleration of imports.
France's Economy Minister Eric Lombard described the figures as good news that showed French companies were resilient to US tariff hikes, some of which have already gone into effect.
'The 0.3 percent growth that we had in the second quarter, when tariffs were already in force, clearly shows that they are holding up in this situation,' he said on RTL radio.
Household spending flipped from being a drag to a contributor to growth, by 0.1 percent, mostly due to additional food purchases.
'This recovery can be explained notably by the positioning of Easter at the end of April and favourable weather in April and May,' said INSEE in a statement.
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A growth in inventories also made a positive 0.5 percent contribution to growth in the second quarter, after 0.7 percent in the first three months of the year.
Inventories are finished goods that have not been sold at the end of the period. They can be a positive signal if companies are anticipating demand, or they can indicate that manufacturers are having trouble finding buyers.
The gains in second quarter inventories were mostly due to the aerospace and auto industries. Without the gain in inventories, domestic demand would have been flat.
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