PARIS, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The French central bank, Banque de France, on Monday announced a 0.3 percent growth forecast during the third quarter of 2016, following stagnation a quarter earlier.
According to the bank's economic monthly report, industrial production picked up with a rebound occurring in most sectors. Both deliveries and orders were buoyant in July.
Based on business sentiment, the French central bank expected the industrial sector to be stable in August.
At the end of July, increased transport activity helped to strengthen the service sector, which is set to witness further improvement in short term, the bank said.
France, the eurozone's second largest economy, had set a growth target of 1.5 percent of GDP in 2016, three percentage points more than its 2015 growth rate.
