Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in France contracted for the tenth consecutive month in March, underling concerns over the economic outlook of the euro zone’s second largest economy, preliminary data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, market research group Markit said that its preliminary French manufacturing purchasing managers’ index inched up to a seasonally adjusted 48.2 this month from a final reading of 47.6 in February. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 48.5 in March.
Meanwhile, the preliminary services purchasing managers’ index declined to a seasonally adjusted 52.8 this month, in line with expectations and down from 53.4 in February.
The seasonally adjusted Markit Flash France Composite Output Index, which measures the combined output of both the manufacturing and service sectors dipped from 52.2 in February to 51.7 in March.
A reading above 50.0 on the index indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
Commenting on the report, Jack Kennedy, Senior Economist at Markit said, "The data suggest that first-quarter GDP will show a modest rise following the 0.1% increase in the final quarter of 2014."
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0956 from around 1.0953 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7332 from 0.7328 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mildly lower after the open. France’s CAC 40 shed 0.1%, the EURO STOXX 50 lost 0.25%, Germany's DAX slumped 0.5%, while London’s FTSE 100 declined 0.1%.