The Bank of France on Friday lowered its growth forecast for the last quarter of 2008, following falls in its business sentiment indicator and the business climate in December.

In its monthly economic survey, the bank estimated the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by 1.1 percent in the last three months of 2008, down from its previous prediction of a 0.7-percent contraction.

It also expected the average annual GDP growth to stand at 0.7 percent for 2008, 0.1 percentage point down from its former estimate.

The bank's business sentiment indicator fell to 66 in December, from 68 in November, the lowest since records began in 1987. However, economists had expected the indicator to fall to 65.

"The decline was particularly marked in the intermediate goods and automotive sectors," the survey said.

It said new orders slowed on the domestic and foreign markets, and business managers expect the situation to get worse.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2009)