by Sudip Kar-Gupta
PARIS, April 23 (Reuters) – Activity in the services sector in France increased in April for the first time in almost a year, offsetting weakness in the manufacturing sector, according to the monthly PMI survey.
The preliminary HCOB PMI for services, compiled by S&P Global, reached 50.5 points in April, compared to 48.3 in March and a consensus of economists of 48.9 points.
The 50 mark separates growth and contraction in activity, and the April reading is above this mark for the first time since May 2023.
Conversely, the PMI indicator for the industrial sector fell to 44.9 points, against 46.2 in March and a consensus of 46.9 points.
The composite PMI rose to 49.9 points from 48.3 in March and a Reuters consensus of 48.8 points.
“Activity in the services sector grew for the first time since May 2023, when large protests began to deteriorate economic sentiment,” says Norman Liebke, economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.
“As demand was strong in April, work backlogs fell at a slower pace compared to the previous month. French manufacturing production remains weak, but we believe it will soon follow the path of the services sector,” adds the Economist. (Report Sudip Kar-Gupta, French version Corentin Chappron, edited by Blandine Hénault)
©2024 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.