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Sharpest fall in French private sector output for four years
Private sector firms in France reported a further steep decline in output during March. Moreover, the rate of contraction accelerated to the sharpest in four years. This was signalled by the Markit Flash France Composite Output Index, based on around 85% of normal monthly survey replies, falling from 43.1 in February, to 42.1. Dragging the composite figure down was a faster decline in service sector business activity during March. The latest fall was the steepest since February 2009. Manufacturing output was also down markedly, but the pace of decline eased slightly to the slowest in three months. Incoming new ... (full story)