- Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit
Business activity in the UK services sector rose at the fastest pace in four months in November, suggesting a stronger economic growth in the final quarter of the year. The Markit/CIPS UK services PMI climbed to 55.9 last month from 54.9 in October, offsetting the weakness in manufacturing and construction sectors. There were some signs in the services survey that price pressures were building, albeit from low levels. Input prices, which include wages, rose at the fastest pace in four months, something that is likely to cheer up the Bank of England. Markit's UK composite PMI, which combines data from the manufacturing, services and construction surveys, was steady in November at 55.7, the highest level since July. The British economy is on track to grow 0.6% in the fourth quarter, accelerating from the 0.5% pace in the July-September period. The Office for Budget Responsibility revised up the growth outlook for next year, saying it predicts the UK economy to grow by 2.4% in 2015 and 2016 - up one basis point for 2016 when compared to the July outlook. It also upped the growth outlook for 2017 by one basis point to 2.5%, before sliding to 2.4% in 2018, and slightly lower to 2.3% in 2019-2020.
The Bank of England announces its next policy decision on December 10. Traders are betting officials will keep the benchmark rate at a record-low 0.5% through 2016
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