Oil prices decline for a sixth session, as Saudi Arabia reportedly restarts its east-west pipelineIn France, private sector activity bounced back in September, and rose at the fastest pace in more than two years.The first of the flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reports from S&P Global for September showed a strengthening of the eurozone’s second-biggest economy at the end of the third quarter as activity growth returned.The French economy displayed surprising resilience in September, although the durability of this expansion is questionable given new orders barely rose and firms’ own expectations for activity deteriorated.
There may also be some payback driving the uplift after the extreme heat seen in August disrupted some business activities, particularly in the service sector.Nevertheless, these data reinforce the narrative that European economies are weathering the war-induced inflation shock well. The pick-up in the PMI price…