(News Bulletin 247) – The growth of activity in the private sector in the United Kingdom continued to slow in June, show the preliminary results of the S&P Global/CIPS survey carried out among purchasing managers.
The composite PMI index – which includes both the services sector and that of the manufacturing industry – thus fell to 52.8 this month, a low of three months, against 54 in May.
The ‘flash’ PMI for the services sector fell to 53.7 from 55.2 last month, again hitting a three-month low, when the consensus expected it at 54.9.
That of the manufacturing sector sank further into the contraction zone, to 46.2 in June against 47.1, a six-month low, a figure there even less than expected.
For Chris Williamson, chief economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, this slowdown in activity is the result of the monetary tightening policy orchestrated by the Bank of England.
The analyst says BoE rate hikes only increase the likelihood of a recession by the end of the year, a scenario he sees as the price to pay to fight against high inflation.
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