French Economy Grows Fastest in Year; Spain Beats Forecasts
- French first-quarter GDP rises 0.5%, Spanish GDP up 0.8%
- ECB President Draghi struggling to lift euro-area inflation
A shopper carries a Disney Store branded carrier bag on the Avenue des Champs-Elysee in Paris, France, on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. The French Competition Authority has acquired new powers to streamline merger control, dilute retail dominance, control the establishment of regulated legal professions and the fees they charge.
Photographer: Christophe Morin/BloombergThe French and Spanish economies grew faster than expected in the first quarter, suggesting some momentum in the euro area’s expansion.
Growth in France accelerated to 0.5 percent from 0.3 percent, beating the 0.4 percent projection in a Bloomberg survey, statistics office Insee said on Friday. In Spain, GDP increased 0.8 percent, maintaining its pace of growth from the previous quarter and also exceeding the median forecast of analysts.