"The September service sector PMI adds to evidence to suggest that the UK economy barely expanded in the third quarter"
- Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit
The U.K. service sector growth decelerated in September, diminishing chances of economic recovery, the market research group Markit said on Wednesday. The purchasing managers' index for services fell to 52.2 last month, down from 53.7 in August. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while below signals contraction. Analysts had predicted nation's PMI to decline by 0.6 points to 53.1.
"The September service sector PMI adds to evidence to suggest that the UK economy barely expanded in the third quarter," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.
"(The PMIs) have been overstating GDP growth recently and we think this is a quarter where they understate it as you get the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics effect coming back into Q3... What they show us is an economy which, in an underlying sense, is really flatlining, which is what we think happened in the second quarter and the third quarter again as well," said Tom Vosa from the National Australian Bank.
The FTSE 100 Index added 0.28 per cent to 5,825.81. The broader FTSE All-Share Index rose by 0.22 per cent to 3,041.11.
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