PARIS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The French economy is on course
to eke out slightly positive growth this quarter after growing
0.1% in the previous quarter, the central bank said on
Wednesday.
The Bank of France said companies polled in its monthly
business sentiment survey reported activity slightly stronger in
January than had been expected last month.
For February, companies expected a slight slowdown in the
service sector, stable activity in the industrial sector and a
downturn in construction, the central bank said.
Meanwhile, supply chain troubles eased sharply in industry,
with only 33% of companies mentioning it as an issue in January
after 40% had in December, while in the construction sector the
number fell to 31% from 33%.
Companies also reported an increase in selling prices, as
they often do at the start of the year, but it was less
pronounced than at the beginning of last year.
The number of firms having staffing troubles also fell,
declining for the fourth month in a row to 51%, the central bank
said.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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