France confirms zero growth in Q2

French economy stagnated for the third consecutive quarter in the April-June period this year due to weak contribution from households' consumption and foreign trade balance, the national statistics bureau Insee said on Friday. Persistent effects of global recession and turbulent financial markets forced French consumers to cinch up their belts, with their purchasing power, the country's main growth engine, falling 0.1 percent over the period, the Insee said. In the second quarter, foreign trade balance, which comprised of a 1.7-percent increase in imports and a 0.2-percent growth in exports, contributed negatively to GDP growth. Insee data also showed unchanged performance of production in goods and services from April to June at minus 1 percent with those of inventories reported a 0.3-percent increase, better than the 0.1-percent rise in the first quarter. For the full year, Insee forecast the gross domestic production (GDP) growth of the French economy to stand at 0.2 percent, making it hard for the eurozone's second largest economy to recover with unemployment exceeding 10 percent.