LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s powerful services sector saw activity pick up in February at the fastest pace in eight months, buoyed by renewed business confidence and an improving economic outlook, a survey released on Friday showed.
But rising borrowing costs and household financial difficulties continued to limit growth.
The S&P Global/CIPS Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 53.1 from 48.5 in January.
The PMI services index rose to 53.5 in February, the highest since June, against 48.7 the previous month and 53.3 in the first estimate.
Tim Moore, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said there were clear signs that input inflation had peaked. Cost pressures eased to their lowest level since June 2021.
The PMI survey also shows that the volume of new orders rose at the fastest pace since May, thanks to the rebound in exports and stronger demand in Western Europe and the United States.
(Suban Abdulla, Laetitia Volga, editing by Kate Entringer)
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