PARIS (Reuters) -France's private sector activity has contracted at a sharper rate in April, driven by a steep decline in services, according to the HCOB Flash France PMI survey compiled by S&P Global.

The flash services PMI dropped to 46.8 points from 47.9, its lowest in two months, as new business intakes fell at the steepest rate since November 2020. This compared with a Reuters poll forecast for 47.7 points.

The manufacturing sector showed some signs of resilience, with its output index rising to 50.3 from 48.6, reaching a 35-month high. But the overall manufacturing PMI came in at 48.2, down from March's 48.5.

The composite PMI, combining services and manufacturing, fell to 47.3 points in April from 48.0 points in March, marking the eighth consecutive month of contraction. Readings below 50 indicate declines in activity.

Despite the uptick in manufacturing production, the overall outlook remains bleak. Firms expressed pessimism about future output, with business expectations hitting a near five-year low.

"Despite a slight decline from the previous month, the data are not as dire as we anticipated," said Jonas Feldhusen, Junior Economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.

"The order situation has significantly deteriorated, and future business expectations have slipped below the growth threshold."

The survey highlighted pronounced demand weakness within domestic markets, although export sales saw their shallowest drop since August 2022. Falling workloads led to backlog completion, with manufacturing backlogs holding steady for the first time in more than two years.

Price pressures eased, with input costs rising at the slowest pace in 2025, and prices charged were discounted for the first time in three months.

The final April PMI data will be published in early May.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Hugh Lawson)