Household consumption of manufactured goods remained stable month-over-month, slowing from August's revised 0.4 percent increase, reflecting adjustments for seasonal patterns and newly available data. While engineered goods surged by 1.8 percent, driven by a sharp rise in clothing and durable goods spending, the gain was offset by a drop in food and energy consumption. Cooler weather boosted textile and clothing purchases, with spending on apparel climbing by 6.2 percent. Similarly, durable goods rebounded, with notable gains in housing equipment such as appliances and furniture.

Over the third quarter, total consumption of goods modestly rebounded by 0.3 percent after a decline in Q2. Engineered goods remained stable across the quarter, while food consumption saw a slight recovery, climbing 0.3 percent. Energy consumption rose by 0.9 percent, spurred by higher electricity and gas spending despite lower fuel use.

This latest update highlights the dynamic nature of household spending amidst seasonal shifts, putting the French RPI at minus 3 and the RPI-P at 0, both gauges showing economic activity in general performing in line with market expectations.

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.