French business confidence fell for a fourth month in October amid concern that slowing global growth and Europe’s debt crisis will crimp demand.
Confidence among factory executives fell to 97 from 99 in September, national statistics office Insee said today in Paris. Economists expected a reading of 98, according to the median of 14 forecasts gathered by Bloomberg News.
Finance Minister Francois Baroin said this week that France will probably not achieve the 1.75 percent growth he has been predicting for next year and pledged further deficit-reduction efforts to protect the nation’s credit rating. European leaders gather in Brussels in coming days in a bid to end the region’s debt crisis.
