France consumer confidence falls again

French consumer confidence, a key measure of economic well being, fell further in April, official data showed yesterday.

An index of household or consumer confidence stood at minus 37 in April, down three points from March, the INSEE statistics body said.

INSEE said household views on their standard of living slipped one point, after a similar fall in March, while their outlook weakened by four points after a drop of six points the previous month.

Households were crucially less inclined to make large purchases, with this measure down three points, and feared an increase in unemployment, up one point after an increase of four points in March.

April showed that consumer concerns continued to increase after having eased in the second half of last year, INSEE noted.