France returns to growth with 0.3pc expansion in third quarter

Finance Minister Michel Sapin told AFP that the latest figures by INSEE mean that France’s economy will grow “by at least 1.1 percent” for 2015 as a whole, adding he believed the country had “exited the period of extremely weak growth that had lasted too long”.

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Economic growth in European powerhouse Germany slowed slightly in the third quarter, preliminary data showed Friday, as it braved headwinds from China’s economy and the Volkswagen pollution scandal.

However, on a year-on-year basis, German GDP rose 1.7%, higher than the 1.6% gain it registered in the second quarter but short of the 1.8% hike analysts had expected.

The agency said the third-quarter growth was mainly due to “domestic final consumption expenditure” with both household and government consumption spending rising.

Consumer spending picked up pace, growing by 0.3 per cent, up from 0 per cent in the previous quarter. While exports and imports bounced back in September, industrial output posted its steepest drop in more than a year in that month. Economists had expected growth to improve to 0.4 percent. In addition, foreign trade also had a downward effect on growth because the increase in imports was markedly larger than that of exports, Destatis said.

Brzeski said the data suggested a strong and healthy economy while masking future risks.