Jan 30 (Reuters) - France's economy slightly retreated in the fourth quarter, preliminary data from the INSEE statistics agency showed on Thursday, below analyst expectations.
The euro zone's second-biggest economy slightly declined by 0.1% in the last three months of the previous year after an unrevised 0.4% rise in the third quarter, INSEE said in its quarterly GDP report.
A Reuters poll of 30 economists had on average forecast a stagnation or a 0.0% change in gross domestic product FRGDPP=ECI in the fourth quarter, with estimates ranging from -0.2% to +0.3%.