France's business climate hits 4-year high

French business leaders were more optimistic about business climate in August with the monthly sentiment indicator rising by one point to 100, the highest level since 2011, the national statistics bureau Insee said Thursday.

The indicator inched up thanks to the positive performance of services and manufacturing business reaching its long term average of 100 points.

Services activities increased by two points to 99 points, while manufacturers' sentiment about industry sector gained one point to 103 points, the report's data showed.

Over the period, business leaders expressed pessimism over the situation of retail trade whose index fell by one point to 105 points.

Turning point indicators was up by two percentage points to 1 percent which mirrors "a favorable short-term economic outlook," it added.