PARIS (Reuters) – France’s dominant services sector contracted more than first estimated in August as another fall in new orders weighed on business in the euro zone’s second-biggest economy, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The HCOB France final purchasing managers index (PMI) for the services sector, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 46.0 points – its lowest level since February 2021 – from 47.1 points in July. That was below August’s flash services PMI reading of 46.7 points.
Any figure below 50 points marks a contraction in activity, while above 50 points shows an expansion. The French services index has now been below that level for the third month in a row.
The final composite PMI figure for August – which comprises both the services and manufacturing sectors – also fell to 46.0 points from 46.6 points in July, which HCOB said marked the biggest decline in the composite PMI figure since November 2020.
“The French services sector remains under pressure in August. The trend is a trifecta of obstacles: a third consecutive month of dwindling business activity, coupled with a simultaneous decline in new business both overall and abroad,” said Norman Liebke, economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.
“The companies surveyed predominantly point towards two key culprits: the restraint of customer budgets and general caution regarding the economic outlook.”
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
