French Consumer Spending Falls by More Than Expected in June

French inflation steadied in July as a slight rise in services and energy prices offset a slowdown in food prices, national statistics agency Insee said Friday.

The consumer price index in the eurozone's second largest economy rose 0.7% on year in July, the same rate as June. The figure was in line with economist expectations.

The European Central Bank last week said the economic recovery in the eurozone is robust, but that patience and persistence were necessary to get inflation back toward the central bank's 2% target.

France's HICP--the inflation index closely watched by the ECB--rose 0.8% on year in July, the same rate as in June, Insee said.

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

PARIS--French consumer spending was weaker than expected in June as households cut back on manufactured goods, statistics agency Insee said Friday.

Consumer spending in the eurozone's second largest economy fell 0.8% on the month. Economist polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.5% decline.

Declines in clothing sales were particularly sharp, falling 4.7% on the month.

Still, over the second quarter, consumer spending rose faster than in the previous three months, helping sustain firm economic growth in France.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2017 03:22 ET (07:22 GMT)