French Consumer Sentiment Weakest Since 2013

(RTTNews) - French consumer confidence declined to its lowest level in more than 13 years in October amid bond selloffs and expanding protests, signalling pressure on spending, survey results published by the statistical office INSEE showed Tuesday.

The consumer confidence index fell to 80 in October from 85 in September. A similar lower score was last reported in June 2013. The reading was seen at 85.

Assessment of past and future personal financial situation deteriorated notably in October. The past personal financial situation indicator dropped six points to -32 and the one related to future slid nine points to -24.

Household sentiment regarding standard of living declined again. The past standard of living index hit -85, the lowest since the survey began in 1972. The future standard of living index dropped to -67 from -61.

The proportion of households believing it is a good time, in the current economic situation, to make major purchases weakened after a moderate improvement. The corresponding indicator fell to -41 from -37.

The proportion of households believing it is a good idea to save declined again, with the balance easing to 37 from 43 in September. At the same time, the index measuring future ability to save decreased again, to 12 from 15. Meanwhile, the current saving capacity indicator remained unchanged at 17.

Further, the survey showed fears about unemployment increased among households. The balance climbed five points to 61.

Price concerns intensified among consumers. The proportion of households who consider that prices climbed over the past twelve months increased sharply with the index climbing eight points to 42. Meanwhile, the indicator for future inflation dropped to -7 from -9.

The survey was conducted among 2,000 households between September 25 and October 19.