REUTERS/Eric Gaillard Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - France's dominant services sector contracted at an even sharper pace in September, a monthly survey showed on Friday, as falls in demand and new orders weighed on the euro zone's second-biggest economy.
The flash September manufacturing PMI number came in at 43.6 points - also much lower than the 46.0 points in August and way off a Reuters poll forecast of an unchanged level.
The August composite flash PMI number comprising both the services and manufacturing sectors stood at 43.5 points, down from the final 46.0 August composite number and well below a Reuters poll forecast of 46.0.
Business activity has fallen sharply in both the service and manufacturing sectors in September, mainly due to a slump in demand for French products and services.
It is important to note however that this will be almost entirely driven by the public service sector," Liebke added.
Persons:
Eric Gaillard, Norman Liebke, Liebke, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Toby Chopra
Organizations:
REUTERS, Rights, P Global, Commercial Bank, French National Bank, Thomson
Locations:
Nice, France