Household spending on manufactured products was surprisingly weak in April. After a stronger revised 0.8 percent monthly increase in March, purchases fell fully 1.0 percent, matching their worst performance since December 2022. Sales now stand at their lowest level since January but, with base effects positive, annual growth was unchanged at 0.7 percent.

April's monthly setback was largely due to a 2.0 percent slump in textiles and clothing compounded by a 0.1 percent fall in other engineered goods. With food declining some 2.7 percent but energy gaining 1.3 percent, total goods spending dropped 0.8 percent, more than reversing March's 0.5 percent advance.

The disappointing April data make for a poor start to the current quarter, leaving overall goods purchases 0.5 percent below their average level in the first quarter. Moreover, looking ahead, consumer confidence was only unchanged in May and so still well below its long-run average which, with buying intentions similarly very weak, suggests that the household sector will not provide much of a boost to GDP growth this quarter. Indeed, with the French RPI now at minus 41 and the RPI-P at minus 38, economic activity in general is now falling well short of market forecasts.

Spending on manufactured goods is expected to increase 0.2 percent on the month following a 0.6 percent increase in March.

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.