PARIS, April 21 (Reuters) - French business activity has
grown more than forecast in April, a monthly survey showed on
Friday, as brisk activity in the services sector offset
lingering weakness in manufacturing in the euro zone's
second-biggest economy.
The April HCOB Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) flash reading
for France's dominant services sector compiled by S&P Global
stood at 56.3 points - up from 53.9 in March and beating
forecasts for a reading of 53.4 points.
Any figure above 50 points marks an expansion in activity,
while below 50 shows a contraction.
By contrast, the HCOB flash PMI for manufacturing fell to
45.5 points in April from 47.3 in March and was below forecasts
for a reading of 47.8 points.
The flash reading for the April composite PMI - which
comprises both the services and manufacturing sectors - rose to
53.8 points from 52.7 points in March. It also beat a forecast
for an unchanged 52.7 points.
Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) economist Norman Liebke said
that while recent protests in France against plans to increase
the retirement age had hit the manufacturing sector, they had
not impacted services.
"Surprisingly, no traces of the protests are visible in the
services sector. The positive performance of the French economy
in April is entirely due to the services sector, as it has been
in the past three months," said Liebke.
"The French economy is starting the second quarter on a
positive note with the services sector, which accounts for
around 80% of the economy, improving in April at the strongest
pace since May 2022," he added.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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