By Maria Martinez 
 

France's economy rebounded in the third quarter, recovering from its biggest contraction on record in the second quarter due to the lockdown enforced to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The eurozone's second-biggest economy grew 18.2% during the third quarter, following a revised 13.7% decline in the second quarter, French statistics agency Insee said in a first estimate for the period. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 15.0% expansion.

Year on year, the economy contracted by 4.3%, Insee said.

Spain, Germany and Italy will also publish GDP figures on Friday and they are forecast to show strong rebounds following their historic contractions in the second quarter. The eurozone as a whole will also release the first estimate of its GDP for the third quarter and a sharp expansion is expected.

Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 30, 2020 02:44 ET (06:44 GMT)