UK business activity at six-month high - PMI15 Dec 2023 10:13
Activity in the UK private sector hit a six-month high in December boosted by a pick-up in the services sector, figures showed Friday.
At 51.7 in December, up from 50.7 in November, the headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global/CIPS Flash UK PMI composite output index pointed to the fastest rise in private sector business activity since June.
“Higher levels of business activity were supported by a renewed improvement in order books, alongside efforts to work through post-pandemic backlogs,” the survey said.
The UK services PMI business activity index registered 52.7 compared to 50.9 in November, a six-month high, but manufacturing remained subdued.
The manufacturing PMI hit a two-month low at 46.4 compared to 47.2 in November.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said: “The UK economy continues to dodge recession, with growth picking up some momentum at the end of the year to suggest that GDP stagnated over the fourth quarter as a whole.”
But he noted it was “a dual-speed economy, with manufacturing contracting sharply while services regained some poise.”