France April flash services PMI 58.8 vs 56.5 expected

Prior 57.4Manufacturing PMI 55.4 vs 53.0 expectedPrior 54.7Composite PMI 57.5 vs 55.0 expectedPrior 56.3That's a solid beat on estimates as French business activity rises at its quickest pace since January 2018 with both services and manufacturing sectors showing a solid expansion. Demand conditions for services in particular were robust, with the removal of COVID-19 restrictions helping to increase activity levels.The only downside remains on price pressures, where output charges were seen rising at the fastest pace on record for a second month running. S&P Global notes that:"The resilience of the French economy in April may come as a little surprising to many given rampant inflation, escalating geopolitical tensions and on-going supply-chain disruption. The strongest increase in economic output for over four years suggests there was still plenty of COVID catch-up at the start of the second quarter. Indeed, comments from our panel members back this up, with many linking this to an increase in their orders.“Support for demand also came from clients placing advanced orders and bookings in anticipation of higher prices. This was particularly (but not exclusively) the case in manufacturing, and is important anecdotal evidence that tells us inflation expectations are still rising. Companies are now starting to fear that soon enough, clients will not be so accepting of price hikes. Output charges rose at a series record rate once again in April, surpassing the previous high set in March. Given how rampant inflation is at present, it’s difficult to see sustained post-pandemic recovery efforts offsetting the negative impact from rising prices."