FR Flash Manufacturing PMI

France’s private sector registered its first month of expansion since April during August, latest HCOB PMI® survey data revealed, with the overall pace of growth at its quickest since March 2023 as a strong upturn in services activity propelled the broader economy. This came despite an intensification of manufacturing malaise, as factory orders fell at the steepest pace in over four years. Indeed, aside from the headline index’s improvement, August PMI data highlighted fragility across France’s economy. Private sector employment ...

Private sector output across France came close to stabilising in July, although a sharper contraction in factory production did slightly offset a renewed expansion in business activity at services firms. As a result, the combined level of output across both sectors decreased marginally at the start of the third quarter. The latest HCOB survey data also showed demand for French goods and services falling further, although employment growth was sustained. Notably, business confidence slipped for a fourth month in a row, down to its ...

France’s private sector economy endured a challenging month in June, flash HCOB PMI data revealed, as a solid and renewed decrease in total new orders pulled output further into contraction territory. This marked yet another setback for the euro area’s second-largest economy at the end of the first half of 2024, with April’s expansion (which was the first in almost a year) now offset by two consecutive months of declining business activity. Other indicators from the survey also softened in June. Employment growth eased to a ...

After returning to growth at the start of the second quarter for the first time in almost a year, private sector business activity across France saw a fresh contraction in May. The decline was marginal overall, however, and considerably weaker than those seen on average between June 2023 and March this year. Positively, new orders expanded for the first time in just over a year amid stronger demand for French services. A continued decrease in exports suggested improving sales conditions were driven principally by the domestic market. ...

After ten consecutive months of declining business activity, the French economy stabilised at the start of the second quarter, with private sector output levels broadly unchanged from those seen in March. Notably, services activity increased for the first time since May 2023, although this was counteracted to some extent by an accelerated decline in manufacturing production. New business volumes fell further, albeit to the weakest extent across the current one-year contraction. Exports exerted a sharper negative influence on overall ...

France’s private sector economy remained in contraction territory at the end of the first quarter, according to the latest HCOB Flash PMI survey. Although the decline in business activity accelerated slightly since February, it was still only modest and the second-weakest over the current ten-month downturn. The faster fall in output came amid a quicker deterioration in demand for French goods and services, with this also contributing to a renewed decrease in employment. However, firms’ expectations for growth in the coming year rose ...

France’s economy remained stuck in contraction midway through the opening quarter of 2024. However, the downturn eased considerably as private sector output levels fell at the weakest pace in the current nine-month period of decline. February’s shallower contraction came amid tentative signs of improvement in underlying demand conditions as new orders fell at the softest rate since last May. There was also a rise in employment – the first since October 2023 – while business confidence strengthened to a seven-month high. Meanwhile, ...

Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-onmonth reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work ...