PARIS (Reuters) – French business activity accelerated more than expected in March, as the eurozone’s second-largest economy benefited from strong momentum in the services sector, preliminary results from surveys by the Eurozone showed on Friday. S&P Global (PMI).
The composite index, which combines activity in the manufacturing sector and that of services, rose to 54.0 for the current month, against 51.7 in February.
The services index rose to 55.5, above the Reuters consensus of 52.5 after 53.1 the previous month.
The smaller manufacturing sector remains in contraction. It rose only modestly in March, to 47.7 from 47.4 the previous month and a consensus of 48.0.
“The French economy, the second largest in the Eurozone, is showing remarkable resilience in the face of rising interest rates and high inflation, with the latest PMI data indeed suggesting French GDP growth in first quarter of 2023,” said Joe Hayes, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
(Sudip Kar-Gupta; Laetitia Volga, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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