French industrial output up

French industrial output rose slightly more than expected in August but economists said the sector remained fragile and exports weak, in stark contrast to Germany.
National statistics office INSEE said on Monday industrial output rose by 0.8 percent in August compared with the previous month - marginally more than the rise of 0.7 percent predicted by economists in a Reuters poll.
"Overall, there is a rebound - yes. But not in a spectacular way," said Philippe Waechter, chief economist at Natexis Asset Management.
"Despite the rebound from July, we are now on a more or less stable level for the first two months of the (quarter). That means, without a brutal acceleration in September, it will be difficult in the third quarter," he said.
Industrial production excluding energy, agri-food businesses and construction, which INSEE considers the best measure of manufacturing output, increased by 0.7 percent in August. Economists said the figures showed that industrial activity in France was still vulnerable.
"There's a base of activity, there's even some growth," said Nicolas Bouzou, economist at Xerfi. "But this growth remains structurally weak, notably because of the problems that France has in the international markets - a loss of industrial competitivity, which translates into the appearance of a very strong trade deficit," he said.
Compared to Germany, Europe's largest economy, French firms found it harder to take advantage of a pick-up in global demand, analysts said. France posted a trade defict of 2.669 billion euros in July.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's government has been keen to stimulate household spending in an effort to boost growth in the euro zone's second largest economy.
French consumer confidence rose in September to its highest level since May. But economists have cautioned that unemployment close to 10 percent could weigh on spending in the future.
INSEE said last week the French economy, the euro zone's second largest, should grow by 1.5 percent this year, the bottom end of the government's target range.
INSEE revised July's reading for industrial output on Monday, saying it had fallen by 0.7 percent compared to the month before. INSEE had previously reported a fall of 0.9 percent for July.