PARIS, April 5 (Reuters) - France's dominant services
sector expanded at the fastest rate in nine months in March,
albeit not as quickly as initially thought, a monthly survey
showed on Wednesday
S&P Global's final services purchasing managers index (PMI)
for last month rose to 53.9 points - well down from an early
"flash" estimate of 55.5 - from 53.1 in February, speeding up
for the first time in three months.
Any number above 50 points denotes an expansion in activity,
while below 50 shows a contraction.
"March's PMI survey rounds off what can be considered a
fairly positive opening quarter of 2023 for the French economy,"
said S&P Senior Economist Joe Hayes.
"Although manufacturing output continues to fall, two robust
monthly expansions in services activity in February and March
could lead to a better economic growth performance in the first
quarter than many anticipate."
French economic growth is proving to be stronger and
inflation weaker than expected for this year as Europe's energy
price shock fades, the country's central bank said two weeks
ago, raising its 2023 GDP forecast to 0.6% versus 0.3% figure
given in December.
Hayes said this momentum might not be carried over in the
second quarter of the year, however, as other parts of the
economy such as construction and manufacturing remain weak.
There may also be some material impact on the economy from the
widespread protests against President Emmanuel Macron's pensions
reform.
Since January, French unions have organised several
nationwide days of strikes and demonstrations that have been
attended by millions of people. They are planning further action
ahead of a Constitutional Council ruling on the reform on April
14.
S&P Global's final composite PMI for France covering both
the services and manufacturing sectors rose to 52.7 points from
51.7 in February, also down from a flash estimate of 54.0.
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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