- Prior 49.5
- Composite PMI 48.5 vs 46.8 prelim
- Prior 48.6
That's a decent revision higher but it still sees the weakest performance in the UK services sector in eight months, but at least the contraction was marginal. The other good news at least is that inflation pressures were marked down to their lowest in nearly 2½ years. S&P Global notes that:
"Service sector activity remained on a negative trajectory in September as cutbacks to non-essential business and consumer spending weighed on sales volumes. Although only modest and slower than indicated by the earlier 'flash' PMI reading, the downturn in UK service sector output was the greatest seen since the beginning of this year and stood in contrast to solid growth during the spring months.
"Survey respondents often suggested that a combination of elevated borrowing costs and subdued economic conditions had led to lower new business intakes. A renewed decline in export sales also acted as a headwind to order books during September, led by weaker demand across Europe.
"Service providers responded to lower volumes of new work and falling backlogs by putting the brakes on hiring plans in September. Some firms noted that strong wage pressures had led to the non-replacement of voluntary leavers. Measured overall, service sector payroll numbers decreased at the fastest pace since January 2021.
"The latest survey data provided encouragement that headline rates of inflation will continue to moderate in the coming months, with service sector input costs rising at the slowest pace for nearly two-and-a-half years. There were reports that higher fuel prices and wage bills had pushed up prices charged across the service economy, but service firms often suggested that competitive pressures had eroded pricing power.
"An expectation of sustained falls in UK consumer price inflation and a subsequent turnaround in demand conditions, appeared to support business optimism in September. Output growth projections across the service economy edged up to a three-month high and were much higher than seen at the same time in 2022."
