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French activity decline deepens amid ongoing coronavirus shutdowns
French private sector activity continued to plunge in April, with ongoing business closures stifling both supply and demand. The latest headline IHS Markit France PMI posted a reading of just 11.2 in April, eclipsing March’s historic result of 28.9 and a fresh series low. The overall reduction in activity was driven by both manufacturers and service providers, with the latter registering the sharper decline. Both sub-sectors recorded their fastest contractions in output since composite data collection began 22 years ago. The coronavirus outbreak continued to supress demand in the first month of the second quarter, ... (full story)