United Kingdom: Manufacturing and services PMIs fall in July
The S&P Global/CIPS Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from 53.7 in June to 52.8 in July. As such, the index remained above the 50.0 no-change threshold, signaling a continued—albeit milder—improvement in business conditions from the previous month.
The lower reading was driven by weaker manufacturing and services PMI figures. In the private sector as a whole, business activity in July rose at the softest pace in 17 months, dampened by mild demand and shortages of workers and materials. Employment growth also slowed. New orders growth was moderate in the private sector as a whole, but fell in the manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, input cost inflation eased from June amid lower commodity prices, feeding through to lower output price inflation.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global, commented:
“UK economic growth slowed to a crawl in July, registering the slowest expansion since the lockdowns of early-2021. Although not yet in decline, with pent-up demand for vehicles and consumer-oriented services such as travel and tourism helping to sustain growth in July, the PMI is now at a level consistent with just 0.2% GDP growth. Forward-looking indicators suggest worse is to come.”