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French goods producers saw a pickup in momentum in November, with a recovery in export demand underpinning solid growth in the euro area’s second biggest economy.

IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing rose to 51.6 from 50.7, a level indicating near-stagnation. It was the sector’s best performance in five months and beat all estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Orders rose for the first time since August, although still at a modest pace.

“A notable finding from the latest PMI survey was the broad improvement across the manufacturing sector,” Eliot Kerr, an economist at IHS Markit said. “The latest data provide good news for a sector that has recorded relatively subdued growth for well over a year.”

Signs of resilience in France are adding to evidence that the euro-area economy may be starting to bottom out. Investor confidence improved as concerns over trade tensions and Britain’s exit from the European Union started to ease.

Friday’s report showed export orders across the private sector grew for a second month. French companies also hired more staff, with employment rising at the fastest pace in more than a year.

An index measuring activity across manufacturing and services rose modestly to 52.7. Increasing orders and backlogs of work suggest “strong underlying demand and further growth ahead,” according to Kerr.

--With assistance from Simbarashe Gumbo and Mark Evans.

To contact the reporter on this story: Piotr Skolimowski in Frankfurt at pskolimowski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Jana Randow

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