UK PMI Services was finalized at 49.3 in November, down from October’s 50.0. PMI Composite was finalized at 49.3, down from 50.0. Markit noted marginal fall in business activity. New work decreased at the fastest pace since July 2016. Input cost inflation also eased to the lowest level for over three years.
Tim Moore, Economics Associate Director at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey:
“November’s PMI surveys collectively suggest that the UK economy is staggering through the final quarter of 2019, with service sector output falling back into decline after a brief period of stabilisation.
“Lacklustre demand remains centred on business-to-business spending. Service providers have attributed the recent soft patch to delayed decision-making on new projects until greater clarity emerges in relation to the domestic political landscape. Sales to export markets were hard-hit in November, as signalled by the steepest fall in new work from abroad for more than five years.
“Service providers reported concerns that consumer appetite for big-ticket purchases has begun to falter, while those reliant on consumer footfall and discretionary spending noted the negative impact of unusually wet weather in November.
“Lower manufacturing production alongside an absence of growth in the service economy means that the IHS Markit/ CIPS Composite Output Index is consistent with UK GDP declining at a quarterly rate of around 0.1%.”
