According to a new survey, business activity weakened faster than predicted in France in December, as goods and services demand within the country’s economy further deteriorated.

The HCOB France flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for France’s services sector, compiled by S&P Global, stood at 44.3 points this month, a 37-month low.

The index has remained under the 50-mark dividing growth from contraction for seven consecutive months.

According to a poll by the Reuters news agency, the country’s December flash services PMI stood at 46.0, whilst the final figure for November was 45.4.

In addition, the flash manufacturing PMI for this month declined to 42.0 points, representing a 43-month low, from 42.9 in November. The figure also fell short of a Reuters survey forecast of 43.3 points.

Moreover, the flash December composite PMI, which takes into account the services and manufacturing sectors, fell to 43.7 points from 44.6 in November, and also under a forecast of 45.0 points.

“The French economy is sinking into the recession quagmire, with HCOB Flash PMIs painting a disconcerting picture in December of the second-largest EU economy. Both the services and manufacturing sector contractions have intensified compared to the previous month,” according to Hamburg Commercial Bank economist Tariq Kamal Chaudhry.

“French industry, in particular, expressed concerns about future prospects. Domestic and international orders are plummeting, signalling trouble for employment as job losses extended,” he added.

Last week, the INSEE statistics agency in France slashed its growth forecast for this year from 0.9% to 0.8%, falling short of the 1% the government has focused its budget planning around, leaving the second-largest economy in the eurozone in a fragile position going into the new year.