Sales of textiles and leather goods rise in France
30/07/2001
Despite expectations of lower growth, French consumers increased their spending in June by 1.5%. Among the best figures were those for leather and textiles, which saw a 4.6% rise in sales after three months of falls.
The figures were released by French statistical agency Insee, and have boosted hopes that the country could weather the global slowdown through a buoyant domestic market. Inflation stayed steady after rising strongly the previous month, and finance minister Laurent Fabius, predicts growth in GDP over the year of around 2.5%.
Overall, the French figures make the country the brightest of all those in the Eurozone, and come after the more sombre news on Monday (23 July) of falling confidence amongst German business.
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