PARIS (Reuters) - - French factory activity shrank at the fastest rate in four months in December, suggesting the private sector weighed on growth in the final quarter of 2014, a survey by data compiler Markit showed on Friday.
In its monthly snapshot of activity in the sector, Markit said its final purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector dropped to 47.5 from November's 48.4, further below the 50 point line dividing growth from contraction.
"The French manufacturing sector ended 2014 on a weak note, with output and employment both falling at sharper rates in December," Markit economist Jack Kennedy said. "A turnaround remains unlikely anytime soon".
The final reading was slightly worse than a flash estimate of 47.9.
A separate survey by France's statistics office INSEE has showed a more optimistic view with industrial morale unchanged in December from November at 99, close to the long-term average of 100.
The fall in the euro, oil prices and borrowing rates are expected to help kickstart a long-awaited, but modest, recovery in the euro zone's second-largest economy in 2015.
(Reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Catherine Evans)