Business conditions in the French manufacturing sector improved at the slowest pace for three months in December. The result was driven by a slowdown in output growth and a return to contraction in new orders. Similarly, there was a broad stagnation in employment and a renewed downturn in purchasing activity. Looking forward, although firms remained confident of a rise in output during 2020, the degree of positivity was in line with October's three-and-a-half-year low. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit France Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index® (PMI®) – a single figure measure of developments in overall ... (full story)