Household spending on manufactured goods easily beat expectations at the end of last quarter. A 0.6 percent monthly rise was some 0.5 percentage points above the market consensus and matched its best performance since June last year. Following an unrevised 0.3 percent increase in February, the March gain was the fourth in the last five months and lifted annual growth from minus 0.6 percent to 0.7 percent. That said, purchases are still some 4.0 percent below their level just before the arrival of Covid.

March's monthly progress came courtesy of a 1.0 percent bounce in durable goods within which transport equipment climbed a further 2.1 percent after a 2.3 percent jump in mid-quarter. Textiles and clothing also advanced 1.3 percent but household goods fell 0.5 percent and the other engineered goods category 0.1 percent. Elsewhere, food rose 0.5 percent but energy decreased 0.6 percent leaving overall goods spending up 0.4 percent.

The latest update means that total goods spending in the first quarter edged up just 0.1 percent versus the previous period, making for a minimal contribution to real GDP growth. The trend looks to be heading in the right direction but, ominously, the 2023 recovery in consumer confidence has effectively stalled so far this year. Sentiment remains well below its long-run average and with buying intentions similarly very weak, prospects for the current quarter hardly seem robust. Still, more generally, today's updates put the French RPI at 14 and the RPI-P at 17. Both readings show overall economic activity modestly outperforming market expectations.

Spending is expected to rise a monthly 0.1 percent after a 0.3 percent increase in February.

Consumption of manufactured goods by consumers is an indicator of consumer spending for household durable goods such as autos and furniture. The data are released separately as part of the report on total goods spending.

This indicator is a measure of retail sales and is unique to France. It measures consumer spending for household durable goods such as autos and furniture. The data are seasonally and workday adjusted. These adjustments eliminate the fluctuations that are solely due to changes in the number of working days. The data appear to be particularly sensitive to the number of worked Saturdays. With consumer spending a large part of the economy, market players continually monitor spending patterns. Retail sales are a measure of consumer well-being.

The pattern in consumer spending is often the foremost influence on stock and bond markets. For stocks, strong economic growth translates to healthy corporate profits and higher stock prices. For bonds, the focus is whether economic growth goes overboard and leads to inflation. Ideally, the economy walks that fine line between strong growth and excessive (inflationary) growth.

Retail sales not only give you a sense of the big picture, but also the trends among different types of retailers. Perhaps auto sales are especially strong or apparel sales are showing exceptional weakness. These trends from the retail sales data can help you spot specific investment opportunities, without having to wait for a company's quarterly or annual report.