2017.09.2203:24:00UTC+00France's Private Sector Growth At 76-Month High

France's private sector expanded the most since May 2011, flash data from IHS Markit showed Friday.

The composite Purchasing Managers' Index rose unexpectedly to a 76-month high of 57.2 in September. Economists had forecast the index to drop to 55.0 from 55.2 in August.

"Encouragingly, private sector growth appears to be broad-based, with similar rates of expansion recorded in both the manufacturing and services sectors," Alex Gill, an economist at IHS Markit, said.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to 56.0 from 55.8 in the previous month. The reading was forecast to drop to 55.5. Manufacturing production rose to the greatest extent since April 2011.

The rate of growth in service sector activity accelerated in September and was only marginally weaker than May's near-six-year peak. The services PMI improved to 57.1 from 54.9 a month ago. The expected level was 54.8.