(Reuters) -The French economy grew slightly in the first quarter, preliminary data from the INSEE statistics agency showed on Tuesday, a touch above analysts’ expectations.
The euro zone’s second-biggest economy rose by 0.2% in the first three months of the current year after a 0.1% growth in the fourth quarter of 2023, INSEE said in its quarterly GDP report.
Quarterly household spending growth accelerated to 0.4% compared with 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
A Reuters poll of 29 economists had on average forecast a 0.1% growth in gross domestic product (GDP), in the first quarter, with estimates ranging from 0.0% to +0.2%.
The growth in the quarter was in line with Bank of France’s expectation announced in early April.
(Reporting by Michal Aleksandrowicz and Piotr Lipinski in Gdansk; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Andrew Heavens)
