PARIS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- France's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022 decelerated to 0.2 percent in volume terms, the country's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) said on Friday.
Following the stagnation of the first quarter of 2022 (Q1), France's GDP recovered by 0.5 percent in the second quarter (Q2)
According to INSEE, France's final domestic demand contributed positively to GDP growth in Q3 by 0.4 points, while net foreign trade contributed negatively by 0.5 points.
"Imports were more sustained than in the second quarter, in particular for goods, while exports continued to slow down due to the decline in services exports," INSEE explained.
Maxime Darmet, an economist specializing in France at Allianz Trade, told the French daily Le Figaro that the third quarter of 2022 could be the "last hurrah before going into recession."
In its estimates published at the beginning of September, INSEE predicted 0.2 percent growth for the third quarter, followed by zero growth in the last three months of this year.
The forecast for economic growth in the fourth quarter (Q4) appears "more uncertain", due to monetary tightening -- particularly in the United States -- and uncertainties over energy supplies to Europe, INSEE said in September. ■