By Sudip Kar-Gupta
PARIS, Feb 2 (Reuters) – France’s manufacturing sector expanded in January and had its fastest increase in production in almost four years, helped by plans to increase defence and military spending in Europe, said a survey by S&P Global on Monday.
The HCOB France Manufacturing final PMI rose to 51.2 points in January from 50.7 in December, and slightly beating a flash reading of 51.0 points.
That final January manufacturing PMI also marked its highest level since June 2022.
S&P Global said the sector was benefiting from plans in Europe to step up defence and military spending, given the war in Ukraine and political rifts with the United States.
“Although the trade environment remains unsettled by existing tariffs, the reverberations from new U.S. announcements are far less disruptive than they were a year ago,” said Hamburg Commercial Bank junior economist Jonas Feldhusen.
“At the same time, Europe’s efforts to strengthen its strategic autonomy in defence policy are gaining traction. Together, these two key developments could provide a boost to the manufacturing sector in 2026,” he added.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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