By Jon Sindreu 
 

LONDON--Consumer spending in France likely recovered in April after a March dip, economists say, signaling the economy will continue to get stronger into the second quarter of the year.

Official figures showed last week that French gross domestic product expanded at a healthy 0.6% in the three months to March, after recording no growth during the final quarter of 2014. Analysts are expecting a slight pickup in consumer spending in April, which would signal households are starting to regain confidence in the economy.

"A drop in car sales will likely be countered by a small increase in other manufactured consumer goods," economists at Morgan Stanley said in a weekly note Friday. "Looking ahead, prospects for this year are rosy," they added.

Meanwhile, uncertainty over negotiations between Greece and its European creditors continues to dampen the mood among investors. Athens is hard-pressed to reach an agreement with lenders before June 5: and the Greek government admitted this week that it would be unable to meet a EUR300 million payment to the International Monetary Fund on this date without further financial assistance.

 
Date     GMT    Indicator                         Period   Forecast       Previous 
May 27   0800   GERMANY GfK Consumer climate      Jun      10.0 (19)      10.1 
May 27   1500   BELGIUM Business climate          May      -6.0 (7)       -6.2 
May 28   0800   GERMANY Import prices             Apr      +0.5%MM (8)    +1.0%MM 
May 28   0800   GERMANY Import prices             Apr      -0.7%YY (9)    -1.4%YY 
May 28   0900   SPAIN GDP final                   Q1       +0.9%QQ (12)   +0.9%QQp/+0.7%QQ 
May 28   0900   SPAIN GDP final                   Q1       +2.6%YY (9)    +2.6%YYp/+2.0%YY 
May 28   1000   ITALY Consumer confidence         May      108.2 (7)      108.2 
May 28   1100   EUROZONE Economic sentiment       May      103.6 (18)     103.7 
May 28   1100   EUROZONE Industrial confidence    May      -3.0 (14)      -3.2 
May 28   1100   EUROZONE Consumer confidence      May      -5.5 (12)      -5.5p/-4.6 
May 29   0800   GERMANY Retail sales              Apr      +1.0%MM (11)   -1.4%MM 
May 29   0845   FRANCE Household consumption      Apr      +0.2%MM (8)    -0.6%MM 
May 29   0845   FRANCE Household consumption      Apr      +2.5%YY (4)    +2.1%YY 
May 29   0900   SPAIN HCPI                        Ma       -0.6%YY (6)    -0.7%YY 
May 29   1000   ITALY GDP final                   1Q       +0.3%QQ (16)   +0.3%QQp/0.0%QQ 
May 29   1000   ITALY GDP final                   1Q       0.0%YY (12)    0.0%YYp/-0.5%YY 
May 29   1000   EUROZONE M3 money supply          Apr      +4.8% (18)     +4.6% 
May 29   1000   EUROZONE M3 3M average            Apr      +4.5%YY (5)    +4.1%YY 
May 29   1100   ITALY CPI preliminary             May      0.0%MM (3)     +0.2%MM 
May 29   1100   ITALY CPI preliminary             May      +0.1%YY (5)    -0.1%YY 
 

(Figures in parentheses refer to number of economists surveyed. p = preliminary)

Write to Jon Sindreu at jon.sindreu@wsj.com