29 April 2016

2016- n° 115

Household consumption expenditure on goods kept growing in March (+0.2%), it bounced back over the first quarter (+1.7% after −0.5 %) Household consumption expenditure on goods - March 2016

In March 2016, household consumption expenditure on goods rose by 0.2% in volume* (after +0.5% in February and +1.0% in January) : the dynamism of expenses on energy is partly offset by the withdrawal of expenditure on food products and textile-clothing. Over the first quarter 2016, household expenditure on goods picked up substantially (+1.7% after −0.5%), particularly due to expenses on energy and the acceleration of household durables.

In March, consumption of energy sped up (+3.5% after +1.1% in February); in particular, expenditure on electricity and gas increased again, due to cool temperatures compared to seasonal norms. Over the whole quarter, expenditure on energy recovered (+1.5%) after a fall caused by a particularly mild autumn (−2.3% over the fourth quarter of 2015).

In March, purchases of engineered goods fell again (−0.3% after −0.4%), particularly due to the new decline in the expenses on textile-clothing. However, purchases of engineered goods picked up clearly over the whole quarter (+2.4% after −0.4%).

In March, consumption of durables increased anew (+1.2% after +1.4%). Car purchases sped up (+1.3% after +0.5%) and expenditure on household durables remained dynamic (+1.4% after +4.2%). Over the whole quarter, consumption of durables grew by +3.3% (the highest growth since the first quarter of 2011). In particular, consumption of household durables accelerated (+5.8%), notably boosted by consumer electronics purchases, before the change of television diffusion standard on April, 1^st 2016.

In March, expenses on textile-clothing kept decreasing (−3.6% after −5,5% in February), despite the growth in shoes purchases. Over the first quarter, however, they grew by 2.4% (after −3.0% over the fourth quarter of 2015).

After three consecutive months of growth, household expenditure on other engineered goods stepped back (−0.6%), mainly in hardware. Over the whole quarter, expenses on these goods accelerated slightly (+0.8% after +0.5%).

Consumption of food products decreased in March (−0.6% after +1.4%). In particular, consumption of meat stepped back strongly, as a backlash of the strong growth in February. Over the quarter, food consumption accelerated slightly (+1.0% after +0.4% on the fourth quarter of 2015).

The variation of household expenditure on goods in February 2016 has been revised downwards by 0.1 points: it now stands at +0.5%, instead of +0.6%. Indeed, since the previous publication, new information has been integrated, lowering even more purchases of textile-clothing, but elevating the dynamism of household durables, and the seasonal adjustment coefficients have been updated.