Oct 1 (Reuters) – France’s manufacturing sector expanded for a second straight month in September, although the pace of growth slowed as new orders fell, a business survey showed on Thursday.
• The S&P Global France Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 50.6 points in September from 51.1 in August, said the S&P Global survey.
• Any figure above 50 points marks an expansion in activity, while below 50 shows a contraction.
• That final September manufacturing PMI was nevertheless stronger than the flash manufacturing PMI figure of 50.3 points.
• S&P Global said there had been an increase in factory production, although new orders had fallen for the fifth successive month.
• It added that inflationary pressures remained a concern.
• Data published this week showed that French consumer prices had risen by more than expected, with the headline inflation figure standing at 3.4%.
• “Against a backdrop of rising inflation, an intensification of the energy market crisis and a tightening of financial conditions, France’s manufacturing sector managed to grow in September,” said Joe Hayes, senior principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
• “It points to a striking degree of resilience, although falling new orders, inventory pullbacks and weak expectations raise questions about the durability of this expansion,” he added.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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