LONDON: British companies had their strongest month in February since May last year, suggesting the economy is out of a short recession, but inflation pressures will keep the Bank of England on alert, according to a survey published on Tuesday.
The S&P Global composite Purchasing Managers Index, spanning Britain’ services and manufacturing sectors, edged up to 53.0 from 52.9 in January.
A final version of the PMI for the services sector on its own dipped to 53.8 from January’s 54.3 and was a touch weaker than the preliminary February estimate which also stood at 54.3. But it was still its second-highest reading since May 2023.
“Another solid expansion of business activity across the service sector in February adds to signs that the UK economy has turned a corner after entering a technical recession during the second half of 2023,” Tim Moore, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.
Britain’s economy shrank in the third and fourth quarters of 2023, meeting the technical definition of a recession. But falling energy prices and wages growing faster than…
The S&P Global composite Purchasing Managers Index, spanning Britain’ services and manufacturing sectors, edged up to 53.0 from 52.9 in January.
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A final version of the PMI for the services sector on its own dipped to 53.8 from January’s 54.3 and was a touch weaker than the preliminary February estimate which also stood at 54.3. But it was still its second-highest reading since May 2023.
“Another solid expansion of business activity across the service sector in February adds to signs that the UK economy has turned a corner after entering a technical recession during the second half of 2023,” Tim Moore, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.
Britain’s economy shrank in the third and fourth quarters of 2023, meeting the technical definition of a recession. But falling energy prices and wages growing faster than…
