France: Consumer confidence recovers in February
Consumer confidence continued its recovery in February, according to the consumer confidence survey published by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), which climbed 3 points from January to land at 95 points. Despite the improvement, the survey remained below the 100-point threshold—its long-term average—for a ninth consecutive month.
February’s upturn was nearly broad-based as consumers’ anxieties over their personal finances eased somewhat, and as concerns over unemployment fell. Moreover, consumers’ expected standard of living over the short-term improved but remained below its long-term average. Inflation expectations, for their part, rose considerably.