3 Dec 2014
UK Service sector activity expands in November
FXStreet (Mumbai) - The UK Service sector Purchasing Manager’s Index rose to 58.6 in November, beating the market expectation of 56.5 and higher from the October’s print of 56.2.
The activity strengthened on the back of firm demand and rising volumes of new business. However, difficulties in coping with higher workloads have pushed the backlogs higher for the twentieth consecutive month. Meanwhile, companies are expected to raise investment, both in staff numbers and offered services.
On the Price front, falling energy prices helped push inflation down to a three-month low. Higher wage bills led to another increase in the operating costs during November. As per Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit, “Half of the survey’s respondents reported optimism for the sector as activity expanded for the twenty third consecutive month, which is a good sign for the end of this year and the beginning of 2015.”
The activity strengthened on the back of firm demand and rising volumes of new business. However, difficulties in coping with higher workloads have pushed the backlogs higher for the twentieth consecutive month. Meanwhile, companies are expected to raise investment, both in staff numbers and offered services.
On the Price front, falling energy prices helped push inflation down to a three-month low. Higher wage bills led to another increase in the operating costs during November. As per Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit, “Half of the survey’s respondents reported optimism for the sector as activity expanded for the twenty third consecutive month, which is a good sign for the end of this year and the beginning of 2015.”