France Raises Growth Forecasts

The Bank of France raised its economic growth forecasts Thursday, highlighting a faster-than-expected pick up in household and business investment in recent months.

France's central bank said it expects gross domestic product to rise 1.8% this year and 1.7% in 2018. In its previous forecasts in June, the Bank of France had forecast growth of 1.3% and 1.5% respectively.

The French economy has picked up speed throughout 2017, buoyed by a strong recovery in investment after years of businesses and households holding back.

The Bank of France said growth in the coming years could be even stronger than its latest revisions indicate, depending on the impact of President Emmanuel Macron's overhauls of labor markets, taxes and business regulations.

Stronger-than-expected growth in 2017 will also help repair France's public finances, bringing the budget deficit down to 2.9% of GDP from 3.4% last year, the Bank of France said. Careful monitoring of spending, however, will be necessary to keep the deficit below the 3% limit of European treaties, the central bank added.

Write to William Horobin at william.horobin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 14, 2017 12:26 ET (17:26 GMT)