PARIS (Reuters) – Activity in France’s service sector contracted further in August, hit by weaker demand and new orders, preliminary results from surveys of managers showed on Wednesday. purchase made by S&P Global/HCOB.
The “flash” PMI for the services sector fell to a 30-month low, at 46.7 this month after 47.1 in July and 47.5 expected by the consensus.
The bar of 50 separates growth and contraction of activity.
The “flash” PMI for the manufacturing sector came out at 46.4 after 45.1 in July and a consensus at 45.0.
The composite index, which includes the manufacturing and services sectors, remained at 46.6 as in July. The consensus was for 47.5.
“The French economy (…) is once again showing signs of running out of steam. For the third consecutive month, we are witnessing a contraction of the second European economy”, underlines Norman Liebke, economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank for whom this leaves predict a contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter.
(Sudip Kar-Gupta report, Blandine Hénault for the French version, edited by Kate Entringer)
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