French consumer morale hits 5-month low as political crisis looms
6:21 am Wednesday, November 27th, 2024
PARIS (Reuters) -French consumer confidence fell to a five-month low in November as households fretted over the outlook for the economy and the job market in the face of a looming political crisis, a survey showed on Wednesday.
Statistics agency INSEE said its consumer confidence index fell to 90 from a downwardly-revised 93 in October, well below the long-term average of 100 and its lowest point since June, when morale dropped after President Emmanuel Macron called a snap legislative election.
Economists surveyed by Reuters were on average expecting household confidence to come in at 93 points in November.
France’s far right National Rally party has stepped up threats to back a no confidence motion to bring down France’s minority-led government if its demands are not reflected in the final cut of the budget bill going through parliament.
The political crisis has rattled financial markets, driving up risk premiums on French bonds.
The survey showed consumers’ concerns about the general economic outlook were at levels not seen since October 2023 when households were still struggling with an inflation shock.
Concerns about unemployment also surged, rising to their highest level since May 2021 when COVID was battering the euro zone’s second-biggest economy.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; additional reporting by Olivier Cherfan & Anna Peverieri in Gdansk; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Christina Fincher)
