According to the report from INSEE, at the end of the 3rd quarter, the French economy expanded by 3.0% in quarterly terms after growing by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Against the background of the latest change, France's GDP has almost returned to its pre-crisis level (4th quarter of 2019).
The catalysts for accelerating GDP growth were final domestic demand (excluding inventory changes), as well as consumer spending, which increased by 5.0% after an increase of 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Meanwhile, gross fixed capital formation decreased slightly - by 0.1% - after an increase of 2.5% in the 2nd quarter.
The data also showed that export growth accelerated sharply - to 2.3% from 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Meanwhile, the volume of imports increased by only 0.1%. In the 2nd quarter, imports recorded an increase of 1.7%. In general, foreign trade had a positive impact on GDP growth - its contribution was +0.6 points. On the other hand, the change in inventories reduced GDP growth in the 3rd quarter by 0.9 points.