PARIS, April 23 (Reuters) - Business activity in France's private sector contracted at its fastest pace in 14 months as a downturn in the services sector amid the Iran war outweighed stronger factory output growth, a preliminary survey from S&P Global showed on Thursday.
The S&P Global Flash France Purchasing Managers' Index for the services sector in April fell to 46.5 points from 48.8 in March, coming in below a Reuters poll forecast of 48.5 points. That level of 46.5 points was its lowest since
February 2025.
Any figure below 50 shows a contraction in activity, while a reading above 50 points to expansion.
The flash manufacturing April PMI, on the other hand, rose to 52.8 points from 50.0 in March, and beat a Reuters forecast of 49.5 points.
Factory order books expanded for the first time in almost four years as clients brought forward purchases ahead of expected shortages and price increases.
However, the composite April flash PMI, which includes both the services and manufacturing sectors, fell to 47.6 points from 48.8 in March. That was below a Reuters forecast for 48.6 points.
S&P Global said inflationary pressures resulting from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran were affecting businesses.
"Unsurprisingly, manufacturing inflation moved even higher in April as a range of raw material costs rose, transportation became more expensive and supply bottlenecks pushed up prices," said Joe Hayes, principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
"Services companies are also feeling the pressure from higher transportation costs."
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Joe Bavier)
