PARIS (Reuters) – French economic growth will flatline in the final three months of the year as activity moderates in the wake of the Olympic Games, the central bank said on Tuesday in its monthly outlook.
A pull-back was widely expected after economic growth reached 0.4% in the third quarter, boosted by an influx of tourists for Olympics in Paris and gains from broadcasting rights on the Games.
Drawing on the findings from its monthly survey of 8,500 executives, the Bank of France said business activity was expected to remain slightly positive in the fourth quarter.
However, order books remain below long-term levels in all industrial sectors – with the exception of aviation – and executives noted that uncertainty about their outlooks was high due both to volatile domestic politics and the U.S. elections.
Executives also reported price pressures had returned to normal after steady increases in recent years while difficulties finding staff continued to ease.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
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