French service sector activity contracted in May, at a slightly faster pace than initially thought, detailed results of a survey by Markit Economics showed Tuesday.
The final Markit services activity index fell to a seven-month low of 45.1 in May from April's score of 45.2. The flash survey results showed a reading of 45.2, unchanged on April. ]
The composite output index, that measures activity in both services and manufacturing sectors, fell to 44.6 in May, the lowest reading in 37 months, from 45.9 in April. The flash reading was 44.7.
"The latest set of dismal PMI figures for the French service sector, combined with similarly downbeat manufacturing survey data, strongly suggests that GDP will contract in Q2 following stagnation in the first quarter," said Jack Kennedy, a senior economist with Markit Economics.
According to Markit, a second successive fall in incoming new business was the key factor behind the weak performance of the service sector. Poor activity at the composite level was also primarily the result of reduced inflows of new work.
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