at’s weighing on companies. Firms said they initially absorbed the shock from the Middle East tensions, but that higher energy costs and uncertainty are now lifting raw-material and transport bills, aggravating supply-chain frictions in energy-hungry industries and squeezing margins in fuel-sensitive services like transport and logistics. Looking ahead to May, businesses expected activity to flatten or dip slightly, with services the weakest spot.
Why should I care?
For markets: When a forecaster goes silent, investors listen.
Skipping a quarterly growth estimate is unusual – and it effectively tells markets that the range of outcomes has widened. When companies can’t reliably predict demand or key costs like energy and freight, lenders and shareholders typically ask for a bigger cushion in returns to compensate for the extra uncertainty. That pressure often shows up first in the most domestically sensitive corners of French assets, especially services-heavy firms and fuel-exposed businesses such as transport and logistics.
For you: Oil prices ripple into more than the gas station.
Transport and logistics firms reporting margin pressure matters because their costs sit inside many everyday purchases. When fuel gets pricier, it raises distribution and delivery bills, and businesses often try to recoup that through higher prices on shipped goods and delivery-linked services. Even if some factories stay busy, a softer services backdrop paired with higher logistics costs can still keep the cost of living feeling stubborn.