French services PMI further strengthens in November, manufacturing remains a drag

Services sector of the French economy remained relatively upbeat during the month of November, maintaining the 50-point threshold mark that separates expansion from contraction. However, manufacturing remained a drag on the country’s business activity.

France’s flash monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for activity in the services sector rose to a two-month high of 52.6 in November from a final October figure of 51.4, data released by IHS Markit showed Wednesday. That was better than the 51.9 reading expected on average by economists polled by Reuters and rose further above the 50 mark that demarcates expansions in activity from contractions.

In contrast, the index for the manufacturing sector edged down to 51.5 in November from a final October figure of 51.8, although it narrowly beat economists' average forecast for 51.4. The faster pace of service sector activity meant that the overall composite index of business activity rose to 52.3 this month from 51.6 the month before, better than the 51.8 figure expected by economists.

"Given that the service sector tends to be a more domestic-facing sector, that also suggests that the domestic market is holding up pretty well," Reuters reported, citing, Rob Dobson, Senior Economist, IHS Markit.

Meanwhile, the EUR/USD is trading 0.15 percent lower at 1.0610, while at 9:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly EUR Strength Index remained neutral at -48.76 (higher than the -75 benchmark for bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex