The composite index fell from 48.1 in October to 45.9 in November, “the largest contraction in French private sector activity since last January,” according to S&P and the HCOB.
Private sector activity recorded its sharpest decline in France since January in November, due to a decline in activity levels which accelerated in the manufacturing and services sectors, according to the published PMI index. Wednesday by the S&P Global agency and the Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB).
The composite index fell from 48.1 in October to 45.9 in November, “the largest contraction in French private sector activity since last January,” according to S&P and the HCOB.
The composite index is a weighted average of the manufacturing sector index and the services sector index. Below 50, it indicates a contraction in activity and above this threshold, it conversely signals an expansion.
According to data from S&P and HCOB, the decline in foreign demand “contributed significantly to the decline in overall sales”, and November recorded the largest “decline in new business from abroad” since May 2020, specifies the note.
In the services sector, which had benefited from a rebound thanks to the Paris Olympic Games this summer, the index fell from 49.2 in October to 46.9 in November, a third consecutive monthly decline. This decline “reflects an acceleration in the decline in the volume of new business during the month,” we can read.
The pace of contraction “was the most marked since January” leading to “the sharpest decline in new contracts for a year in November”, detail S&P Global and the Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB).
The situation is explained in particular by the “decline in the volume of new business”, the weakness of export demand, or the “uncertain” climate, according to data collected by questionnaire in the middle of the month from a panel of “around 400 companies in the French services sector, specify S&P Global and the Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB)
French manufacturing production increased its decline in November due to a significant drop in new orders, according to the PMI index published Monday by the S&P Global agency and the Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB).
The buyers index for manufacturing stood at 43.1 in November, down from 44.5 in October, the sharpest rate of contraction since December 2023. An index below 50 signals a contraction.
