Growth in France’s services industry strengthened in March but confidence weakens -PMI

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s services sector grew at a faster rate in March, a survey showed on Tuesday, although businesses’ confidence over the outlook weakened due to inflation and uncertainty caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Data compiler S&P Global said that while French business activity had benefited from the removal of COVID-19 health protocols in the country, its measure of business confidence had fallen to a 14-month low in March.

S&P Global said its purchasing managers index for services rose to 57.4 points in March from 55.5 in February – exactly in line with an earlier flash estimate.

The index rose further away from the 50-point threshold dividing expansions in activity from contractions.

S&P Global’s overall composite PMI index, which includes the services and manufacturing sectors, also rose to 56.3 points in March from 55.5 in February.

“French service sector growth strengthened in March as the additional lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, including the ‘passe sanitaire’, boosted activity levels across the country and supported demand,” said S&P Global senior economist Joe Hayes.

“Risks to the outlook have however intensified over the past month. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created fresh uncertainty, but it has also caused commodity, energy and fuel prices to surge, and added new complications to already-fragile supply chains. Business confidence slid to a 14-month low in March,” added Hayes.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Hugh Lawson)