PARIS: Consumer spending in France fell unexpectedly in February as unseasonably warm temperatures depressed spending on electricity for heating, official data showed on Friday.
The INSEE official statistics agency on Friday said consumer spending fell 0.4 percent in February from January after rising 1.4 percent the previous month.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast on average an increase of 0.2 percent with estimates ranging from -0.5 percent to 0.3 percent.
Spending on energy dropped 3.3 percent in February as warm weather meant households heated their homes less than expected for the season, causing spending on electricity to plunge.
Spending on manufactured goods, which excludes energy, rose 0.2 percent in February, boosted by the purchase of used cars, clothes and shoes.
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