France's services sector confirmed to have contracted in January - final PMI

PARIS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - France's services sector contracted in January due to a fall in new orders, according to a monthly survey, although the decline was not quite as sharp as first forecast. S&P Global's final services purchasing managers index (PMI) for January gave a figure of 49.4 points - down a touch from 49.5 points in December but slightly above a flash PMI survey which had given a January figure of 49.2 points. Any figure above 50 points shows an expansion in activity, while a number below 50 shows a contraction. S&P Global's final composite PMI number for January - which comprises both the services and manufacturing sectors - came in at 49.1 points, slightly above a flash January composite PMI figure of 49.0 points. Preliminary French fourth quarter gross domestic product figures this week showed growth of 0.1%, but economists say there is still a risk of a recession in France as the euro zone's second-biggest economy faces inflationary pressures. "While it's clear from the PMI surveys that France's economy has been contracting since last November, declines thus far have only been marginal," said Joe Hayes, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. "That said, of concern will be the still-elevated rate at which input costs are rising, with many firms commenting on growing wage pressures. We're seeing inflation stay much stickier in the service sector, with firms here not hesitating to raise their prices more aggressively," added Hayes. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Toby Chopra)