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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2020/jan/31/french-gdp-shrinks-eurozone-gdp-economy-italy-business-live
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| French GDP shrinks unexpectedly in blow to European economy – business live | French GDP shrinks unexpectedly in blow to European economy – business live |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as France’s economy contracts by 0.1% in the last quarter | Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as France’s economy contracts by 0.1% in the last quarter |
| Asia-Pacific stock markets have suffered fresh losses today, as traders continue to be gripped by coronavirus fears. | |
| South Korea’s KOSPI index continued to bear the brunt, down another 1.3% -- having lost around 2.8% on both Wednesday and Thursday following the Lunar new year. | |
| With China’s markets still shut, Hong Kong lost another 0.5%. | |
| Japan, though, rallied 0.5% - but still posted its worst weak in six months. | |
| It may not be all bad news for France. | |
| Derek Halpenny of MUFG suggests growth could pick up this quarter, if firms restock after running down their inventories at the end of 2019: | |
| Better news: Spain’s economy has grown by 0.5% in the last quarter of 2019 | |
| That’s up from 0.4% in Q3, partly making up for France’s decline. | |
| Today’s weak French GDP report is a blow to Emmanuel Macron, says Bloomberg: | Today’s weak French GDP report is a blow to Emmanuel Macron, says Bloomberg: |
| European economists are disappointed to see that France’s economy has contracted. | European economists are disappointed to see that France’s economy has contracted. |
| UBS’s Filip Lipev says the GDP data is worst than expected, due to weak domestic demand....and a bad start to the day. | UBS’s Filip Lipev says the GDP data is worst than expected, due to weak domestic demand....and a bad start to the day. |
| Ludovic Subran, chief economist at Allianz, blames the anti-government strikes that have gripped Paris for many months: | Ludovic Subran, chief economist at Allianz, blames the anti-government strikes that have gripped Paris for many months: |
| Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. | Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. |
| France’s economy has suffered a shock contraction, raising fresh concerns about the heart of the Eurozone — on the day Britain leaves the EU. | France’s economy has suffered a shock contraction, raising fresh concerns about the heart of the Eurozone — on the day Britain leaves the EU. |
| French GDP contracted by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2019, new figures from statistics body INSEE show. That’s down from 0.3% growth in July-September, and much worse than the 0.2% forecast. | French GDP contracted by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2019, new figures from statistics body INSEE show. That’s down from 0.3% growth in July-September, and much worse than the 0.2% forecast. |
| The decline was driven by a slowdown in consumer spending, and a sharp drop in business investment growth.. Companies also ran down their inventory stocks, suggesting nervousness about the future. | The decline was driven by a slowdown in consumer spending, and a sharp drop in business investment growth.. Companies also ran down their inventory stocks, suggesting nervousness about the future. |
| Imports and exports both declined -- a worrying sign for the health of the economy. | Imports and exports both declined -- a worrying sign for the health of the economy. |
| President Macron will surely be concerned -- this is the first time France’s economy has contacted since he took office. | President Macron will surely be concerned -- this is the first time France’s economy has contacted since he took office. |
| INSES says: | INSES says: |
| France is the first major European country to post GDP figures for the last quarter, so this is a worrying sign - especially as Germany only narrowly avoided recession last year. | France is the first major European country to post GDP figures for the last quarter, so this is a worrying sign - especially as Germany only narrowly avoided recession last year. |
| It means France’s economy only grew by 1.2% in 2019, down from 1.7% in 2018. | It means France’s economy only grew by 1.2% in 2019, down from 1.7% in 2018. |
| We’ll find out later this morning how Italy fared, and then how the overall eurozone performed during the last quarter. | We’ll find out later this morning how Italy fared, and then how the overall eurozone performed during the last quarter. |
| Reaction to follow.... | Reaction to follow.... |
| The agenda | The agenda |
| 9am GMT: First estimate of Italian GDP for Q4 2019 | 9am GMT: First estimate of Italian GDP for Q4 2019 |
| 9.30am GMT: UK mortgage approvals figures for December | 9.30am GMT: UK mortgage approvals figures for December |
| 10am GMT: First estimate of Eurozone GDP for Q4 2019 | 10am GMT: First estimate of Eurozone GDP for Q4 2019 |