UK September final services PMI 50.8 vs 50.0 prelim

• Final Services PMI 50.8 vs. 50.0 expected and 52.0 prior.
• Final Composite PMI 50.5 vs. 49.9 expected and 51.8 prior.

Key findings:

• Marginal overall rise in business activity in
  November
• Staffing numbers decrease for second month
  running
• Weakest output growth projections for nearly two
  years

Comment:

Tim Moore, Economics Director at S&P Global Market
Intelligence, said:

“UK service providers indicated that business activity
was close to stalling in November, with growth easing
to its slowest for over a year. Weaker sales pipelines,
cutbacks to new projects and more caution among
clients were all cited as having an adverse impact on
service sector output.

Softer new business expansion and forthcoming rises
in employers’ National Insurance contributions weighed
heavily on staff recruitment, according to survey
respondents. Total workforce numbers dipped for the
second month running, with many firms noting that
pressure on margins from higher payroll costs had led to
the non-replacement of departing staff.

Higher salary payments meanwhile contributed to a
sharp and accelerated increase in input prices, with the
rate of cost inflation the fastest since April.
There was a considerable reduction in business
optimism across the service economy, with output
growth expectations falling to the weakest since
December 2022.

Worries about the impact of policies
announced in the Autumn Budget, in particular those
pushing up employment costs, were widely reported as
leading to a gloomier assessment of business investment
prospects and the broader UK economic outlook.”

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at www.forexlive.com.