French Consumer Spending Falls In August

French consumer spending on manufactured goods fell in August after the euro region's second-largest economy shrank and shed jobs. Household spending on manufactured goods, which accounts for about 15 percent of the French economy, fell 0.3 percent from July, when it rose 0.4 percent, according to data from Insee, the national statistics office, earlier today. From a year earlier, spending declined 0.1 percent, the first year-on-year drop since September 1997.

Spending on cars in France slipped 1 percent in August from the previous month, and purchases of clothes and leather goods dropped 1.9 percent, compared with a 0.1 percent decrease in July, Insee said today. Spending on home appliances and furniture rose 0.6 percent.