Strong growth momentum in French private sector signalled in April
Staff Writer |
April’s flash France PMI data pointed to a tenth consecutive month of private sector growth in France.
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The Markit Flash France Composite Output Index, based on around 85% of normal monthly survey replies, registered 57.4, compared to March’s reading of 56.8.
The latest figure was indicative of the sharpest rate of growth in almost six years.
In the service sector, activity increased for the tenth time in as many months.
Moreover, the rate of expansion accelerated to a 71-month high and was sharp overall.
Manufacturing output also continued to rise markedly, and at the fastest pace in six years.
In line with the trend for output, April saw a tenth successive monthly rise in new business.
Furthermore, the rate of expansion quickened from the previous month and was the most marked since May 2011.
The volume of new orders increased at both manufacturers and services providers.
Notably, the rate of growth accelerated to a 72- month high in manufacturing, with new export orders increasing at the fastest pace in just under six years.
Buoyed by strong client demand, French private sector firms raised their staffing numbers during April, thereby continuing a trend that has been evident since November last year.
Moreover, the rate of job creation quickened to a 68-month peak.
Both manufacturers and service providers continued to take on additional staff, with the pace of growth sharper at the former.
The amount of unfinished work at companies operating in the French private sector rose in April, thereby extending the latest sequence of increasing backlogs to 14 months.
Capacity pressures continued to be evident at both manufacturing and services companies.
Paralleled by a sharper rise in client demand, the rate of backlog accumulation was steeper in the service sector.
Input prices faced by French private sector companies increased for the fourteenth successive month during April.
The rate of inflation accelerated to a 70-month high and was sharp overall.
Price pressures intensified at both goods producers and service providers, but continued to be felt most strongly by the former.
Average selling prices rose for the first time in five years as firms sought to pass on persistently rising cost burdens to their clients.
The increase was driven by marked inflation in manufacturing as output prices were broadly unchanged in the service sector.
Finally, private sector companies maintained a positive outlook towards output growth over the coming 12-month period.
The degree of positive sentiment rose to a series high and was marked overall.
A number of firms expecting output to increase commented on hopes for a favourable post-election economic environment. ■