UK Business Activity Falls to 11-Month Low

Source: IHS Markit

The United Kingdom opened the year with an 11-month low business activity, as COVID-19 restrictions were reimplemented due to the Omicron variant. EWU is down 0.68% premarket.

• The IHS Markit/CIPS Flash UK Composite Output Index stood at 53.4, down from 53.6 in December. This is the lowest since the recovery started last spring.
• The decline was attributed to the impact of restrictions on hospitality and leisure, offsetting the growth in business and financial services.
• The services sector fell to an 11-month low of 53.3 from December’s 53.6, marking the third straight decline due to pandemic disruptions.
• Manufacturing output for the month grew to a five-month high of 53.8 from December’s 53.6, while the manufacturing PMI fell to 56.9 from 57.9.
• Confidence in the outlook saw an improvement, with the sustained solid jobs growth.
• Inflationary pressures remained elevated near record-high levels, adding to the possibility of another interest rate hike in the upcoming meeting of the Bank of England.