French Consumer Confidence Rebounds Sharply

FRANCE DEC CONSUMER CONF IND 95; NOV 89

• Consumer sentiment jumped 6pt to 95 in Dec, after falling to a two-year low in Nov, coming in stronger than market expectations (BBG: 92)
• Dec's rebound was mainly driven by a solid improvement of household's assessment of the general economic situation in the next 12 months which rose by 20pt, while their opinion of the economic situation in the past year remained unchanged.
• The fear of unemployment eased in Dec by 9pt, but remains well above pre-crisis levels.
• The intention to make major purchases increased 15pt to the highest level since Feb, while savings intentions dropped 8pt to Aug's level.
• Less households expect prices to increase in the next 12 months with the indicator falling by 7pt to a four-month low.
• Consumer's opinion about their future financial situation improved as well, gaining 9pt, while their assessment of their past financial situation edged up 2pt.
• The sharp rebound in purchase intentions as well as lower savings intentions bode well with future spending and household consumption in Q4.