30 May 2016

2016- n° 142

Household consumption expenditure on goods was virtually stable in April 2016 (−0.1%) Household consumption expenditure on goods - April 2016

In April 2016, household consumption expenditure on goods was virtually stable : −0.1% in volume*, after +1.1% in March. Expenditures on energy as well as on durables slowed down sharply. Consumption of food products dropped markedly.

In April, consumption of energy increased for the fourth consecutive month but it slowed down (+0.9% after +4.4%). Expenditure on electricity and gas decelerated while remaining vigorous (+3.3% after +6.2%), due to temperatures once again lower than seasonal norms.By contrast, consumption of refined products fell back (−2.2% after +2.1%), both in oil and diesel.

In April, purchases of engineered goods rose less sharply than in March (+0.3% after +0.9%), hampered by the decrease in car purchases.

In April, consumption of durables slowed (+0.4%) after two months of sharp growth. This deceleration results mainly from the downturn in car purchases (−0.8% after +1.1%). Expenditure on household durables remained dynamic (+2.3% after +4.0%), driven especially by purchases of consumer electronic products and furniture.

In April, expenses on textile-clothing went up slightly anew (+0.2% after −0.3% in March), due notably to the rebound in shoes purchases.

Household expenditure on other engineered goods edged up as well (+0.2% after −0.4%), particularly owing to the rebound in purchases of hardware.

Consumption of food products dropped significantly in April (−1.2%) after a virtual stability in March (−0.1%). This decline is mainly due to a further decrease in meat consumption and a downturn in beverages and tobacco consumption.

The variation of household expenditure on goods in March 2016 has been revised upwards by 0.9 points: it now stands at +1.1%, instead of +0.2%. Conversely, the variation for the first quarter of 2016 has been revised downwards (+1.4% against +1.7%). The magnitude of these revisions is usual at this time of the year. It comes from the benchmarking of the quarterly accounts on the annual accounts, revised following the drawing up of the provisional account of the year 2015, from the reestimation of the seasonal and trading days adjustments coefficients and calibration models, as well as from the integration of new information known since the last publication (especially regarding textile-clothing and household durables).