Britain’s economy displayed clear recession signals on Friday, a day after the Bank of England called a halt to its long run of interest rate increases that have turned the tide on inflation but at the expense of a hit to businesses.
A business survey, which the BoE factored into its decision to keep rates on hold, showed companies endured a much tougher September than feared, marked by growing unemployment.
The preliminary reading of the UK S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the services sector sank to its lowest since the pandemic lockdown of January 2021 and below all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.
Aside from during the COVID-19 pandemic, the index last fell this low during the Global Financial Crisis. Its gauge of jobs suffered its biggest fall on record outside of the pandemic.
Reuters. To read the full article click here
