France October final services PMI 48.0 vs 47.1 prelim

• Prior 48.5
• Composite PMI 47.7 vs 46.8 prelim
• Prior 48.1

Despite the positive revision, it still marks a renewed downturn in France’s services sector with activity levels falling at its quickest pace since April. Some good news at least is that jobs growth held up while input price inflation saw its slowest increase in over four-and-a-half years. Meanwhile, business expectations for the year ahead also remained positive overall. HCOB notes that:

“The downward trend in France’s private sector economy continues unabated at the start of the fourth quarter. After the
HCOB manufacturing PMI already signalled weakness in October, conditions in the service sector also deteriorated. As a
result, the HCOB Composite PMI Business Activity Index has declined once again, marking the fourteenth consecutive
month in which the French private economy has failed to register growth.

“The French service sector is under pressure, with weak demand emerging as the central issue. This is reflected in declining
business activity and a disappointing level of new orders. Key drivers include customer caution and restraint, intense
competitive pressures and ongoing political uncertainty. Business expectations for the coming 12 months have further
deteriorated in October and remain well below the historical average. Several companies with a pessimistic outlook explicitly
cited the political situation as a contributing factor.

“On a more positive note, hiring activity in the service sector has so far remained resilient. The corresponding index has
stayed in expansion territory for three consecutive months, suggesting that the sluggish overall performance has yet to deter
hiring. However, caution is warranted: if demand remains subdued, employment dynamics are likely to weaken over time.
Declining backlogs of work serve as an additional warning sign, indicating that current hiring intentions may be built on shaky
ground.”

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.