PARIS (Reuters) - French consumer spending fell 0.6 percent in March from February, slightly more steeply than forecast by analysts, data released on Thursday by the INSEE statistics agency showed.
The main reason was a sharp 3.2 percent drop in spending on energy during the month. The median forecast among 20 economists polled by Reuters was for an overall 0.3 percent fall in spending.
Consumer spending rose by 0.2 percent in February, a slight upwards revision on the initial reading.