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In 2011 Q3 French GDP increased by 0.4%

Quarterly national accounts - First results Q3 2011

In 2011 Q3, French GDP* increased by 0.4% after a 0.1% decrease in Q2.

Households’ consumption expenditure increased anew (+0.3%) after a step back in Q2 (–0.8%). Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) slightly decelerated (+0.4% after +0.6%). Overall, total domestic demand (excluding changes in inventories) drove GDP up : +0.3 point after –0.3 point.

Imports renewed with growth (+0.3% after –1.2%), and exports slightly accelerated ( +0.7% after +0.5%). Consequently, foreign trade balance contributed positively to GDP growth, but decelerated: +0.1 point after +0.5 point.

In Q3, changes in inventories were neutral on GDP growth, after contributing for –0.2 point in Q2.

Production increased again in Q3

In Q3, production in goods and services accelerated (+0.4% after –0.1%). Production in goods increased by 0.3%, after a decrease of 0.7% in Q2, due to a rebound in the production of energy, water and waste (+2.5% after –1.5%). Besides, production in manufactured goods stepped back less markedly in Q3 (–0.2% after –0.6%).

Also, production in services grew more rapidly than in Q2 (+0.4% after +0.2%) and contributed to the overall acceleration.

Households’ consumption renewed with growth

After a step back in spring (–0.8%), households’ consumption grew this summer (+0.3%). This acceleration was due to a rebound in energy, water and waste (+6.3%), after two quarters of decrease: these consumptions got back to normal after a mild weather in winter and spring. Besides, households’ consumption in transport equipment (especially cars) increased slightly

GDP and its main components

GDP and its main components
GOODS AND SERVICES: SUPPLY AND USES CHAIN-LINKED VOLUMES
percentage change from previous period,trading-days and seasonally adjusted data
2010 Q4 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2010 2011 (ovhg)
GDP 0.3 0.9 -0.1 0.4 1.4 1.7
Imports -0.3 3.1 -1.2 0.3 8.3 5.0
Households' consumption expenditure 0.4 0.3 -0.8 0.3 1.3 0.6
General government's consumption expenditure 0.1 0.4 0.0 0.2 1.2 0.7
GFCF 0.4 1.2 0.6 0.4 -1.4 2.8
of which Non financial corporated and unincorporated enterprises 0.8 1.9 0.3 -0.3 2.0 4.0
Households 0.7 -0.1 1.2 1.4 -1.4 2.9
General government -1.4 1.6 0.7 0.5 -9.7 -0.2
Exports 0.2 1.3 0.5 0.7 9.3 4.1
Contributions :        
Internal demand excluding inventory changes 0.3 0.5 -0.3 0.3 0.8 1.1
Inventory changes -0.1 1.0 -0.2 0.0 0.5 0.9
Net foreign trade 0.1 -0.6 0.5 0.1 0.1 -0.3
Sectoral accounts
In % ,trading-days and seasonally adjusted data
*NFC: non-financial corporations
2010 Q4 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2010 2011 (ovhg)
Profit ratio of NFC* (level) 29.7 29.8 28.9   30.1  
Household purchasing power 0.4 0.2 0.6   0.8 1.3
GDP and components : prices indices
percentage change from previous period,trading-days and seasonally adjusted data
*GG: General Government
2010 Q4 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2010 2011 (ovhg)
GDP 0.1 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.8 1.4
Imports 1.5 3.4 0.1 0.4 4.0 5.1
Cons. Exp. :      
- Households 0.5 0.8 0.6 0.3 1.2 1.9
- GG* 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 1.5 0.9
Total GFCF 0.3 1.1 0.7 0.5 1.2 2.4
- of which Households 0.5 0.9 1.4 0.8 2.3 3.2
- of which NFE 0.2 1.1 0.4 0.3 0.6 1.8
- of which GG 0.3 1.9 0.6 0.4 1.9 3.3
Exports 0.9 1.8 0.4 0.3 1.7 3.5
Manufactured goods : supply and uses in volume
percentage change from previous period,trading-days and seasonally adjusted data
2010 Q4 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2010 2011 (ovhg)
Industrie’s production 0.4 2.8 -0.7 -0.2 4.3 3.1
- of which value added 1.1 2.1 -0.2 0.2 3.3 3.1
Imports 0.8 3.1 -0.9 -0.1 11.0 6.0
Intermediate uses 0.7 1.8 -0.3 0.0 3.1 2.5
Cons. Exp. :      
- of households 0.7 0.6 -1.9 -0.1 1.3 0.2
- of GG 1.2 0.6 0.2 0.7 5.3 3.2
Total GFCF 3.2 2.9 1.4 -0.9 6.7 8.5
- of which NFC 3.6 3.1 1.5 -1.1 8.3 9.4
- of which GG 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.4 -3.8 0.3
Exports -0.2 0.9 0.9 0.7 11.0 4.1
Inventory changes (contribution) 0.0 2.4 -0.6 -0.3 1.6 2.1
Households’ disposable income and ratios of households’ account
percentage change from previous period,trading-days and seasonally adjusted data
*cu: consumption unit
2010 Q4 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2010 2011 (ovhg)
HDI 0.9 0.9 1.2   2.0 3.1
Household purchasing power 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.8 1.3
HDI by cu* (purchasing power) 0.2 0.0 0.4 0.1 0.7
Adjusted HDI (purchasing power) 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.8 1.2
Saving rate (level) 16.1 15.9 17.1 16.1  
Financial saving rate (level) 7.0 6.8 7.8   7.0  
Ratios of non-financial corporations’ account
In %, trading-days and seasonally adjusted data
2010 Q4 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2010
Profit share 29.7 29.8 28.9   30.1
Investment ratio 18.9 19.1 19.2   18.7
Savings ratio 14.0 14.5 13.5   14.6
Self-financing ratio 74.3 75.9 70.6   78.3

in Q3 (+0.2%) after a sharp drop in Q2 (–11.0%).

Households’ consumption in services slightly accelerated (+0.4% after +0.3%).

Investment slightly slowed down

Total GFCF slightly decelerated (+0.4% after +0.6%). Non-financial corporations’ GFCF decreased by 0.3% (after +0.3%). In particular those in transport equipment fell (-4.2% after +1.4%), due to the decrease of company cars’ purchases. Public administrations’ investment slightly decelerated (+0.5% after +0.7%). On the contrary, households’ GFCF accelerated (+1.4% after +1.2%), driven up by new housings’ construction.

Foreign trade balance contributed to GDP growth

In Q3, exports increased by 0.7%, after +0.5% in Q2. This acceleration was due to the acceleration in goods’ (+1.0% after +0.5%), meanwhile exports in services stepped back (–0.8% after +1.2%). At the same time, importations renewed with growth (+0.3% after –1.2%): on the one side, importations in energy, water and waste bounced (+4.0% after –5.2%), in particular in petroleum products; on the other side, importations in transport equipment held steady (–0.2%), after a sharp drop in Q2 (–5.3%), especially on cars.

Changes in inventories were neutral on GDP

After contributing negatively to GDP growth in Q2 (–0.2 point), changes in inventories were neutral on GDP growth in Q3.

GDP is scaled down by 0.1 point in Q2

GDP growth in Q2 is –0.1%, against 0.0% in the previous publication. This revision is mainly due to the revision of industrial production index, to a lesser extent it is due to the integration of new indicators for consumption in information and communication.

Informations Rapides

n° 277 - November 15, 2011

Quarterly national accounts - preliminary figures - 3rd quarter 2011

Next issue August 14, 2013 07:30 - 2nd quarter 2013

For further information

  • Historical data are available on the BDM: G1310, G1320.

See also

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Since July 2009, display of the Informations Rapides has changed.