French industry showed unexpected strength at the end of the third quarter as output from electronics factories and mines expanded. The 0.1% increase in industrial production in September, while small, beat the 0.4% drop predicted by a Bloomberg survey following a 1.6% jump in August. In the third quarter as a whole, industrial production advanced 0.4%, according to a report from the statistics office on Tuesday. The data is the latest to suggest that the French economy returned to growth in the three months through September after stalling in the previous quarter, putting it on track for its largest full-year expansion since 2011. The Bank of France said yesterday that its index of sentiment in manufacturing unexpectedly climbed to 99 and the previous month was revised up to 98. French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said earlier on Tuesday that the economy should grow about 1.2% this year and the government’s forecast for a 1.5% expansion in 2016 remains “credible.” That pace is still too weak and is failing to generate enough new jobs, he said.
