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| Bank of France cuts growth forecast | Bank of France cuts growth forecast |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The Bank of France has cut its forecast for the French economy. | The Bank of France has cut its forecast for the French economy. |
| It now expects the economy to contract by 0.1% between April and June this year, having predicted that there would be zero growth less than a month ago. | |
| There was zero growth in the French economy in the first three months of the year, following growth of just 0.1% in the previous quarter. | There was zero growth in the French economy in the first three months of the year, following growth of just 0.1% in the previous quarter. |
| The cut is the latest sign of the lack of growth in the eurozone, which is struggling with the debt crisis. | |
| Earlier this week, the latest set of official figures confirmed the eurozone economy achieved zero growth in the first three months of 2012. | |
| Declining activity | |
| The cut in the French growth forecast came in the Bank of France's Survey on Industry and Services for May. | |
| It found that: "Industrial activity declined in May, in particular in the automotive and metalworking sectors." | |
| In the services sector: "activity marked an overall decline, especially in the temporary work, transport and hotel-catering sectors". | |
| On Thursday, official figures showed that French unemployment had hit 10% in the first quarter of 2012. | On Thursday, official figures showed that French unemployment had hit 10% in the first quarter of 2012. |
| Weak demand | |
| Latest figures from Germany, which is one of the few eurozone countries registering significant growth, showed that its exports had dropped 1.7% in April compared with the previous month. | |
| The decline followed three consecutive months of gains. | The decline followed three consecutive months of gains. |
| But exports grew 3.4% compared with the same month last year, led by a 10.3% increase in exports to countries outside the European Union. | But exports grew 3.4% compared with the same month last year, led by a 10.3% increase in exports to countries outside the European Union. |
| Germany's imports fell 4.8% compared with the previous month. | Germany's imports fell 4.8% compared with the previous month. |
| "The recent escalation of the debt crisis is leaving its mark. Orders are also declining because of weaker global demand," said Juergen Michels from Citigroup. | "The recent escalation of the debt crisis is leaving its mark. Orders are also declining because of weaker global demand," said Juergen Michels from Citigroup. |
| "Exports are likely to fall further in the months ahead because of this, but we won't see a complete collapse." | "Exports are likely to fall further in the months ahead because of this, but we won't see a complete collapse." |