France consumer confidence: summary household indicator
France consumer confidence: summary household indicator stood at 86 in Sep 2026, according to INSEE – Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (BDM). It is one of the indicators in the Consumer confidence and expectations table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Oct 1972 to Sep 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Consumer confidence and expectations table
| Indicator | 09-2026 | 08-2026 | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary indicator of households' confidence (first factor among the opinion survey balances) | 86 | 86 | 86 | 84 | 82 | 84 | 89 | 92 | 89 | 90 | |
| Intentions to buy a car: Balance of responses (purchase intentions minus no planned purchase) | -75 | -72 | -73 | -72 | -72 | -73 | -75 | -76 | -78 | -76 | |
| Forecasted purchasing capital goods: Balance of responses (increase in purchases minus decrease in purchases) | -5 | -6 | -6 | -3 | -3 | -7 | -6 | -6 | -5 | -4 |
Understanding france consumer confidence: summary household indicator
This headline composite aggregates the primary underlying opinion survey balances into a single synthetic metric of overall consumer sentiment. Constructed using statistical dimension reduction techniques like factor analysis, it captures the common movement shared across diverse household questions ranging from financial situations to general economic outlooks. It excludes idiosyncratic noise from individual sub-questions to present a consolidated macroeconomic pulse.
Interpreting this summary indicator requires examining the underlying component balances to understand which specific sector or financial concern is driving the headline movement. Seasonal adjustment is applied to the composite to remove calendar distortions, allowing analysts to track true cyclical turns. Comparisons across long historical periods require awareness of periodic methodology updates and weight recalibrations.
Frequently asked questions
- How is this summary indicator constructed?
- It is derived as the first principal factor extracted from a selected group of underlying household survey opinion balances.
- Why is this composite preferred over individual survey questions?
- It filters out isolated noise from specific questions to provide a robust, single measure of general consumer confidence.
- Does this indicator predict turning points in economic activity?
- Yes, it is widely used as a leading indicator to track shifts in consumer demand and overall business cycle momentum.