French economy seen growing around 0.1% in first quarter-central bank

PARIS (Reuters) - The French economy is set to grow around 0.1% in the first quarter of 2023 after expanding 0.1% in the fourth quarter 2022, the central bank said on Wednesday.

The Bank of France said companies polled in its monthly business sentiment survey reported activity in February was stronger than in January in the industrial sector and in services and was broadly stable in construction.

For March, companies expected a further improvement in services and the industrial sector but a slight decline in construction, the central bank said.

Meanwhile, supply chain troubles eased sharply in construction, with only 24% of companies mentioning it as an issue in February against 31% in January. The situation stabilised in the industrial sector in February where the ratio remained at 33%.

For March, companies expect a further decline in selling prices in construction, services and the industrial sector, with the exception of the agri-food sector where one company out of three reported having increased prices in February. That ratio could reach over 40% in March.

The number of firms having staffing troubles remained high in February at 52% after declining for four straight months, the central bank said.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Bernadette Baum)