French Services Growth Slowed Less Than First Forecast in July: Final PMI

A waiter serves dishes in a dining room at Au Petit Riche restaurant in Paris as cafes, bars and restaurants reopen indoor dining rooms with a fitted gauge and health protocol after closing down for months amid the COVID-19 outbreak on June 9, 2021. Pascal Rossignol/Reuters

PARIS—Growth in France’s services sector weakened by less than initially expected in July, yet inflationary pressures were likely to weigh in the near-term on the euro zone’s second-biggest economy, a monthly survey showed on Wednesday.

Data compiler S&P Global Market Intelligence said its final purchasing managers index for services fell in July to 53.2 points from 53.9 in June, although the final figure was higher than a flash forecast reading of 52.1 points for July.