UK Service Sector Expands Least In 5 Months

(RTTNews) - The UK service sector growth eased markedly in September amid sluggish demand conditions, survey results from S&P Global showed on Friday.

The headline services The Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 50.8 in September from August's 16-month high of 54.2. This was below the flash score of 51.9. Nonetheless, a reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

New orders rose only marginally in September, linked to clients' reluctance to commit to new orders, which was often due to rising political and economic uncertainty.

The survey respondents also revealed that delayed spending decisions among clients were attributed to uncertainty ahead of the Autumn Budget.

Challenging conditions across global markets also caused for a renewed fall in international sales.

Companies showed a cautious approach towards new workforce numbers as weaker-than-expected demand created lack of pressure on business capacity.

On the price front, input price inflation remained strong in September, driven by greater wages, food prices, utility bills and technology costs. However, overall inflation rate eased, and selling prices also increased at a slower pace.

Looking ahead, business activity expectations overall remained positive in September, though the degree of confidence eased since August and were well below pre-pandemic trends

The composite output index dropped to 50.1 in September from 53.5 in August, indicating broadly unchanged volumes of business activity across the private sector economy.