Share your thoughts on our News & Insights section. Complete our survey to help us improve.

Newsroom

French service sector grows in April but manufacturing weakens, PMI shows

Made in france clothing label.png
Reuters
Written by
Reuters
Published Apr 23, 2024

Article originally published by Reuters. Hargreaves Lansdown is not responsible for its content or accuracy and may not share the author's views. News and research are not personal recommendations to deal. All investments can fall in value so you could get back less than you invest.

France's dominant services sector expanded in April for the first time in almost a year, helping offset continued weakness in manufacturing, according to a monthly survey.

This article is more than 6 months old

It was correct at the time of publishing. Our views and any references to tax, investment, and pension rules may have changed since then.

The HCOB flash purchasing managers index (PMI) for France's services sector, compiled by S&P Global, rose to 50.5 points in April from 48.3 in March, beating a Reuters poll forecast of 48.9 points.

Any figure above 50 marks an expansion in activity, and April's reading was the first time France's services sector had breached that threshold since May 2023.

By contrast, the manufacturing flash PMI fell to 44.9 points from 46.2 in March, below a Reuters' forecast of 46.9 points.

The April composite flash PMI - which comprises both the services and manufacturing sectors - rose to 49.9 points from 48.3 in March, beating a Reuters forecast for 48.8 points.

"Services activity grew for the first time since May 2023, when large protests started to drive negative economic sentiment," said Hamburg Commercial Bank economist Norman Liebke.

"Because demand was strong in April, backlogs of work declined at a slower pace compared to the previous month. French manufacturing output stays subdued, but we expect it will soon follow the path of the services sector," he added.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Christina Fincher)

Copyright (2024) Thomson Reuters.

This article was written by Sudip Kar-Gupta from Reuters and was legally licensed through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.