French consumption of manufactured goods unexpectedly rose 0.3% m/m. Expectations had been for a decline of 0.2% m/m, so data were better than expected. However, this was only a partial rebound after the 0.5% m/m decline in October and likely helped by the marked drop in oil prices that month. With unemployment on the rise the downward trend is likely to be resumed again in coming months. The breakdown showed that car sales dropped 2.1% m/m, after already falling 1.5% m/m in October. With sales down 2.4% y/y this highlights the plight of the automobile industry. Overall sales rose 1.0% y/y, after 0.6% y/y in October.
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