French Consumer Spending Drops Unexpectedly in March

PARIS – French consumer spending dropped unexpectedly in March as households cut back on energy spending during an unseasonably mild start to the year.

Consumer spending in the eurozone's second-largest economy fell 0.4% on the month in March and 1% on the year. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.4% increase on the month and a 0.8% rise on the year.

Energy spending dropped 1.8% on the month in March. Consumer spending on clothing also weighed on the overall figures, declining 1.9% on the month.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2017 03:07 ET (07:07 GMT)