French company chiefs grew more positive in May about the business climate in France, a Bank of France survey showed today.
The central bank, which sounds out some 12,000 companies each month, said its May business climate index rose to 102 from 99 in April.
The survey pointed to growth in France of 0.5 per cent in the second quarter of this year, unchanged from the April survey. Other recent reports on the French economy have been negative, with consumer confidence falling in May, industrial output falling in April and unemployment staying at its highest level in over five years in April.
But economists were sceptical of the bank's upbeat report. "It's excessively optimistic," Emmanuel Ferry, economist at investment house Exane, said of the survey's forecast for second quarter growth. "That would mean a 2.0 per cent growth rate year-on-year," he added.
"Flat growth in the second quarter is more likely. It could even be negative with the slowdown in industrial activity and consumer spending."
Statistics office INSEE also released inflation figures showing consumer prices were flat in May from the previous month, with the cost of manufactured goods falling 0.4 per cent.
The lower-than-expected inflation figures could mean there was room for lower euro zone interest rates, economists said.
The ECB kept euro zone interest rates at their historic low of 2 per cent earlier this month.