• Prior 48.8
• Final Composite PMI 52.2 vs 52.1 prelim
• Prior 49.3

Key findings:

• Business activity rises for first time in three months
• Marginal rebound in new orders
• Slowest increase in input costs since February

Comment:

Tim Moore, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said:

“UK service providers moved back into growth mode during July as greater consumer spending and strong demand for technology services helped to boost overall business activity.

“More supportive market conditions meant that new work picked up for the first time in five months, although the rate of expansion was still sluggish in comparison to historic trends. Many firms cited geopolitical uncertainties and the Middle East conflict as factors limiting their growth trajectory, despite some signs of easing risk aversion among clients.

“A rebound in both activity and new business could not prevent a further decline in staffing numbers, with job losses seen for the twenty-second consecutive month The current duration of falling employment is a joint-record in 30 years of data collection, now equalling those seen during the global financial crisis and in the wake of the dotcom bubble.

“On a positive note, business activity expectations picked for the second month running and reached the highest level since February. Stronger growth projections for the year ahead partly reflected hopes of de-escalating Middle East tensions and recent signs of easing inflationary pressures.

“While service providers continued to experience elevated cost pressures and logistics challenges in July, the latest increase in overall input prices was the slowest for five months and well below the peak seen in April.”

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.