S&P Global PMI shows UK business activity cools as inflation rises

The UK economy is still technically growing, but it’s doing so with all the enthusiasm of someone dragging themselves to a Monday morning meeting. S&P Global’s flash Purchasing Managers’ Index data, released on September 23, painted a picture of an economy losing steam at exactly the wrong moment: just as inflation is picking back up. The composite output index dropped to 51.7 in September from 52.5 in August, missing the 52.0 consensus forecast and hitting a three-month low. Anything above 50 still signals expansion, so the UK isn’t contracting. But the direction of travel is not what policymakers were hoping for. The numbers behind the slowdown Services, which make up the vast majority of UK economic output, drove the deceleration. The services PMI fell to 51.7, down from 52.5 the prior month and below analysts’ expectations of 52.0. Manufacturing told a slightly different story. That sector’s PMI actually ticked up to 52.0 from 51.7, beating the 51.5 consensus. Stronger domestic orders gave factories a modest lift, partially offsetting the drag from services. But even within manufacturing, the picture wasn’t uniformly positive. The output index slipped to 51.4, its lowest re...