According to a monthly survey, France’s private sector economy shrank in November for the first time since February 2021 as a result of weaker new orders for the second-largest economy in the euro zone.
The French services sector’s flash purchasing managers index (PMI) for S&P Global dropped from 51.7 points in October to 49.4 points. Any reading above 50 indicates growth, and any reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The result fell short of the 50.6 points predicted by a Reuters poll.
The manufacturing sector’s flash November PMI score in France increased to 49.1 points from 47.2 in October. Although it exceeded the 47.0 point prediction in the Reuters poll, it was still below the 50 point threshold and so remained a contraction.
The manufacturing and service sectors are both included in the flash November composite PMI figure, which dropped from 50.2 in October to 48.8 points. It also fell short of the 49.5 points forecast in a Reuters poll.
“Despite the fact that France’s manufacturing sector has been in decline since the beginning of the second half of 2022, overall economic activity levels throughout this time have been sustained by ongoing services sector development. As the service sector’s output decreased in November for the first time in just over a year and a half, this crucial support for the economy appears to have come to an end “S&P Global Market Intelligence senior economist Joe Hayes made the statement.
As a result, Hayes continued, “‘flash’ PMI data indicated the first decline in French economic activity since February 2021.”
