French consumer confidence stable in Feb at more than 9-year high

[PARIS] French consumer confidence held at a more than nine-year high in February for the second month in a row, the official Insee statistics agency said on Friday.

Insee's monthly consumer confidence index was unchanged from January at 100, the highest level since October 2007 and was in line with a Reuters poll of 14 economists' average estimate.

The survey found respondents' outlook for the general economic situation over the next year remained at levels not seen since late 2007 before the global financial crisis.

With the labour market finally beginning to turn a corner, unemployment concerns also remained close to a nine-year low while the number of people considering that it is a good time to make big purchases rose.

The survey also showed a sharp fall in the number of people expecting inflation to rise over the next year.

REUTERS