24.03.201704:18:00UTC+00French Private Sector Growth Strongest In Nearly 6 Years

France's private sector expanded at the fastest pace in nearly six years in March, flash data from IHS Markit showed Friday.

The flash composite output index rose to 57.6 in March from 55.9 in February. The latest figure pointed to the sharpest rate of growth since May 2011.

Service providers continued to raise their activity levels during March, thereby extending the latest sequence of growth to nine months. At the same time, manufacturing output continued to grew at a solid pace, albeit to a slightly weaker extent than in February.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index rose unexpectedly to 58.5 from 56.4 in February. The expected reading was 56.1.

The manufacturing PMI came in at 53.4 versus 52.2 in February. The score was forecast to improve to 52.4.

"These numbers paint a rosy picture of the French private sector, as we start to see the effect of various governmental reforms enacted over the last few years," Alex Gill, an economist at IHS Markit said.

"Meanwhile, a high level of business optimism continues to have a positive influence on firms hiring decisions, and can be attributed to a widespread expectation of pro-business policies after May's presidential elections," the economist added.