PARIS: The central bank said growth this quarter will be weaker than previously anticipated and confidence among manufacturers fell the most in three years.
Sentiment among factory executives dropped to 98 last month from 101 in January, its biggest decline since January 2013, according to a monthly survey from the central bank. As a result, the economy will expand 0.3 percent this quarter instead of 0.4 percent, it said yesterday.
The drop in confidence is a significant indication that a slowdown in emerging-market economies such as China and Brazil is spilling over into Europe and may threaten the nation’s first real recovery since President Francois Hollande took office in May 2012. The Bank of France’s indices of sentiment in both the service and construction sectors were unchanged at 96 last month.
