French Q3 GDP Surprises, Beats Expectations

According to data released by the INSEE, France’s GDP for Q3 2019 posted a surprising increase, with the GDP growing by 0.3%, the same pace of growth seen in Q2 2019. The GDP growth beat economists’ expectations, which were for a reading of 0.2%.

Despite the weakness in global economic growth, domestic demand among French consumers remained strong, the leading contributor to the Q3 GDP growth. However, weakness in trade reduced GDP growth by 0.4 points in the quarter.

Growth in household spending among consumers in the Eurozone’s second largest economy climbed higher to 0.3% in Q3 from 0.2% in Q2. On the troubling side, however, business investment registered only a 0.9% increase in the third quarter, coming in lower than the 1.2% growth seen in the second quarter of this year.

The news has given the Euro a boost, with EUR/USD trading bullish around 1.111 at the time of writing.