According to the report from Insee, gross domestic product (GDP) rebounded in Q2 2021 (+0.9%), after being stable (0.0%) in Q1. Economists had expected a 0.8% increase. GDP closed more than one fifth of the gap to its pre-crisis level remaining at the end of 2020: in Q2 2021, GDP stood 3.3% below the level of Q4 2019, as compared to 4.2% in the two previous quarters.

Final internal demand (excluding inventory changes) made a positive contribution to GDP growth this quarter (+0.9 points after +0.1 points in the previous quarter). Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) accelerated (+1.1% after +0.4%), as households’ consumption expenditure (+0.9% after +0.2%).

In Q2 2021, imports (+1.9%) increased more than exports (+1.5%). Overall, foreign trade made a slightly negative contribution to GDP growth this quarter: –0.1 points, after –0.5 points in the previous quarter. Lastly, the contribution of inventory changes to the growth of the GDP was slightly positive this quarter (+0.2 points after +0.4 points in Q1 2021).