PARIS, July 24: French household spending on manufactured goods edged higher in June but economists warned that the longer-term trend pointed to weaker consumption this year and sluggish economic growth.

Spending on manufactured products rose 1.6 per cent in June, driven largely by the textile sector, after a decline in May, the national statistics institute INSEE reported on Tuesday.

But the French auto industry continued to flounder, with June sales declining 2.7 per cent compared with May and 5.5 per cent from June 2006.

The slump highlighted what Marc Touati of the ACDE consultancy described as “a very worrying situation for the French automobile sector.”

—AFP