France's flash manufacturing PMI printed at 51.6 in December, against an expected 50.6. That's the lowest since August and just above the 50 mark that divides expansion from contraction. "French private-sector output growth almost ground to a halt at the end of 2015 amid faltering new business intakes", said Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Markit. The pace of growth in the manufacturing industry sped up at the fastest rate in 20 months, outpacing the growth in the services sector for the first time in more than a year - although costs and wages in manufacturing continued to rise. European service sector PMI also missed estimates of 54.1, coming in at 53.9. The country is on a run of bad economic data. "Although the PMI edged lower in December, the fourth quarter as a whole saw the largest increase in business activity for four-and-a-half years", Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said, in a statement. "The survey is signalling a quarterly GDP rise of 0.4%, meaning the region grew 1.5% in 2015". A Purchasing Managers' Index for manufacturing and services fell to 50.3 from 51 in November, London-based Markit Economics said on Wednesday.

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