France: Private-sector activity slips again in January
In January, the seasonally-adjusted IHS Markit Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 47.9 from 48.7 a month earlier, landing below the 50.0-point threshold and signaling a contraction in private-sector activity.
January’s reading reflected weaker services-sector activity, although it was unclear whether these disruptions were brought on by the ‘gilets jaunes’ protests. Meanwhile, manufacturing-sector activity stabilized from a month earlier. Overall, new orders fell and hiring slowed. For their part, however, firms appeared more optimistic at the outset of the year.