July's household consumption report showed that after a dip in June, household expenditures on goods rebounded slightly by 0.3 percent, driven mainly by increased energy and food consumption. Energy consumption rose by 0.9 percent, particularly due to a surge in gasoline use, even as spending on electricity and gas declined. Food consumption saw a modest recovery of 0.4 percent, with more spending on meat and processed foods, despite a continued drop in the purchase of unprocessed agricultural products.

Meanwhile, spending on engineered goods remained flat. Although there was a slight increase in purchases of other engineered goods, this was offset by a downturn in textile clothing and durable goods, particularly in transport equipment like cars. In contrast, household spending on housing equipment surged by 3.8 percent, fuelled by higher demand for items like phones, furniture, and appliances.

In summary, the data on the household consumption of goods in the manufacturing sector suggest a mixed recovery in consumer spending, with gains in certain areas like energy and housing equipment but ongoing weaknesses in others, particularly in durable goods and textile clothing. This reflects both shifts in consumer priorities and external factors such as fuel prices and seasonal adjustments.

Spending is expected to edge up just 0.1 percent on the month after a 0.1 percent slump in June.

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.