PARIS (Reuters) – Key final results from the S&P Global surveys of purchasing managers in the services sector in Europe, released on Monday:
* FRANCE – THE PMI SERVICES INDEX DROPS TO 51.2
PARIS – The services sector in France lost further momentum in August and the outlook among purchasing managers has darkened, according to the final results of the S&P Global survey.
The PMI services index fell to 51.2 against 53.2 in July and 51.0 in the first estimate, the bar of 50 separating contraction and expansion of activity.
“French services sector activity appears to be gradually heading towards stagnation and leading indicators suggest the worst is yet to come,” S&P economist Andrew Harker wrote in a statement.
The composite index, which includes the manufacturing sector as well as the services sector, stood at 50.4 last month against 51.7 in July.
New orders in the services sector fell below 50 points for the first time since early 2021, while the outlook for businesses fell to a 21-month low.
According to S&P, this decline is above all linked to a weakening of demand in an increasingly gloomy context for the business climate.
“The latest services figures suggest that the overall economy is stagnating in the third quarter and resting on a weak base heading into the final months of the year,” he added.
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said last week that the government was still expecting economic growth of 2.5% this year, despite soaring energy prices.
(Tassilo Hummel report; French version Claude Chendjou, edited by Tangi Salaün)
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