France’s economy is on course to grow 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of the year, led by modest gains in industrial and services activity, the central bank said on Friday in a first estimate for that period.

The Bank of France has previously estimated that the euro zone’s second-biggest economy grew 0.2 per cent in the third quarter after stagnating in the first half of the year.

The central bank offered its latest take on French growth in its monthly business climate survey which showed its index of sentiment in the industrial sector stood at 96 in October, unchanged from September.

The survey showed that sentiment in the services sector rose slightly to a reading of 94 from 93.

President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government expects growth of just 0.4 per cent this year before it accelerates to 1 per cent next year, led by a hoped-for rebound in corporate investment.

In a slew of other economic data, the INSEE statistics office said industrial output was flat in September after falling 0.2 per cent the month before. Its survey of business leaders showed moreover they expected investment to contract slightly next year after remaining stable in 2014.

Separately, the Finance Ministry showed France's budget deficit narrowing fractionally to €80.5 billion by the end of last month from €80.8 billion a year earlier.

Reuters