Economic Buzz: UK Private Sector Moves Close To Stagnation In August

23 Aug 2022 , 03:36 PM

August PMI data compiled by S&P Global and CIPS signaled a further slowdown in business activity growth across the UK private sector. The rate of expansion was the weakest for 18 months and pointed to only a marginal increase in output. The loss of momentum was often linked by panel members to relatively muted customer demand as well as shortages of both labor and inputs. At 50.9 in August, the headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global / CIPS Flash UK Composite Output Index fell from 52.1 in July to signal an expansion of business activity for the eighteenth successive month. That said, the rate of growth was the slowest seen over this period and only marginal. The drop in the headline index was largely driven by a faster decline in manufacturing output (index at 42.4), as services activity growth eased only slightly (52.5). Powered by Commodity Insights