PARIS, May 31. Consumer spending in France in April unexpectedly fell. This is due to the fact that the fall in car sales and soft weather conditions have reduced energy consumption. These findings were presented Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics, Insee.Expenditures on goods manufacturing fell in April by 1,6% compared to the previous month and were only 1.2% higher than in April 2010.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, expected fall in consumer spending at 0.4%.
In Insee cautioned that data on consumer spending on manufactured goods in April, can not be compared with the March data because of changes in nomenclature. In accordance with previous nomenclature, data for March showed consumer spending on manufactured goods by 0,4%.
Total expenditure on goods / this figure was released in April for the first time / fell by 1,8% compared with March, following a decrease of 1% in March compared with February, says in the Insee.
Total expenditure on goods in April 2011 were 0.1% lower than in April 2010.
