The French and Spanish economies both fared better than expected in the final quarter of last year, despite the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions to contain it that weighed on consumer and business activity across Europe.
The French economy shrank 1.3 per cent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, leading to a record 8.3 per cent contraction last year, the national statistics institute said in its initial estimate on Friday. That was better than the 4 per cent quarterly contraction expected by economists polled by Reuters and was also ahead of the government’s revised forecasts.
Spain’s economy grew 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter, down from a 16.4 expansion in the previous three months, official Spanish data showed. The reading was much better than the 1.5 per cent contraction forecast by economists polled by Reuters and it was driven by growth in household and government consumption, while investment shrank.