French manufacturing expands at slower pace in September, PMI shows

Oct 1 (Reuters) - France's manufacturing sector expanded for a second straight month in September, although the pace of growth slowed as new orders fell, a business survey showed on Thursday.

• The S&P Global France Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 50.6 points in September from 51.1 in August, said the S&P Global survey.

• Any figure above 50 points marks an expansion in activity, while below 50 shows a contraction. 

• That final September manufacturing PMI was nevertheless stronger than the flash manufacturing PMI figure of 50.3 points.

• S&P Global said there had been an increase in factory production, although new orders had fallen for the fifth successive month.

• It added that inflationary pressures remained a concern.

• Data published this week showed that French consumer prices had risen by more than expected, with the headline inflation figure standing at 3.4%.  

• "Against a backdrop of rising inflation, an intensification of the energy market crisis and a tightening of financial conditions, France's manufacturing sector managed to grow in September," said Joe Hayes, senior principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. 

• "It points to a striking degree of resilience, although falling new orders, inventory pullbacks and weak expectations raise questions about the durability of this expansion," he added.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Toby Chopra)