France's manufacturing sector experienced yet another solid deterioration in operating conditions at the end of the second quarter as new factory orders decreased at an accelerated pace. This led production volumes, purchasing activity, employment and stocks of inputs all to contract, while business confidence also eased on the month. Nevertheless, despite the challenging demand environment, output prices rose at the fastest pace in 15 months as cost pressures intensified. The seasonally adjusted HCOB France Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ IndexTM (PMI®), compiled by S&P Global, posted 45.4 in June, down from 46.4 ... (full story)