French household consumption falls in July, but rebounds sharply in August

French household consumption of manufactured goods posted a month-on-month decline of 0.9 pct in July after the 0.9 pct rise seen in June, according to figures from the Insee statistics office.
Economists polled by AFX News had been expecting a consensus decline of just 0.5 pct in July.
The June reading was revised down sharply from the initial 1.7 pct rise reported by Insee two months ago.
But in August, consumer spending rebounded sharply, posting a month-on-month rise of 3.3 pct, well ahead of the flat reading expected by economists.
Year-on-year, consumption was up 6.4 pct in August, against expectations of a 3.5 pct rise.
Insee said spending growth was strongest on household equipment, up 5.4 pct in August from July, when spending in this sector fell 1.7 pct, while clothing consumption was also buoyant with a 5.0 pct rise after a 3.0 pct gain in July.