PARIS, May 4 (Reuters) – French manufacturing output and new orders rose in April as customers sped up purchases due to inflationary pressures linked to the Iran conflict, a survey by S&P Global showed on Monday.
The headline S&P Global France Manufacturing final Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for April rose to 52.8 points from March’s 50.0, marking its highest level since May 2022 and climbing well above the 50 mark dividing growth from contraction.
New orders rose for the first time since May 2022, while output grew at its quickest pace since February 2022, the survey showed.
The S&P Global survey also showed that input cost inflation climbed at its fastest rate since June 2022, as manufacturers raised their own prices at the quickest pace in 38 months.
“Order books and production lines in France’s manufacturing sector enjoyed a welcome boost in April as clients front-loaded their purchases in anticipation of price increases and supply disruption,” said Joe Hayes, principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“A rise in backlogs of work also raises the odds of this upturn having legs to continue throughout the quarter,” he added.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
