PARIS (Reuters) – Activity in the French private sector contracted in June for the first time in five months due to the unexpected slack in services, provisional results of surveys of managers showed on Friday. purchase made by S&P Global.
The HCOB PMI for services fell to 48.0 this month, the lowest since the beginning of the year, against 52.5 in May and 52.0 expected by the consensus of economists.
That of the manufacturing sector fell to 45.5 after 45.7 in May. It stands out slightly above the Reuters consensus at 45.4.
The composite index calculated by Markit, which incorporates the two sectors, fell to 47.3 – a low of 28 months – against 51.2 in May and 51.0 for the consensus.
“The latest HCOB flash PMI data is far from painting as encouraging a picture of the French economy as that painted in recent months. At 47.3 in June, the HCOB composite PMI for France fell sharply from in May (losing almost four points) and settled at its lowest level since the start of 2021,” said Norman Liebke, economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.
“The sharp decline in the index mainly reflected a deterioration in the service sector environment, as service provider activity resumed a downward trend, a trend which the companies surveyed attributed to the impact of high inflation and from the tightening of financial conditions,” he added.
(Benoit Van Overstraeten, Laetitia Volga, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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