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The UK’s private sector returned to growth in February for the first time in six months, survey results showed on Friday.
The latest S&P Global/CIPS UK composite purchasing managers’ index rose to 53.1 points in February from 48.5 points in January.
The latest reading signalled the strongest increase in the private sector since June 2022. It also ends a six-month period of decline.
S&P also noted that overall input cost inflation dropped to its lowest since April 2021.
The UK services PMI rose to 53.5 points in February, slightly above the flash score of 53.3 and well up from 48.7 in January.
This marks the first time in six months that the services index posted above the 50.0 no-change mark and thus indicates that business activity has improved.
S&P noted that February data indicated that the UK service sector gained ‘considerable momentum’, with business activity and incoming new work both expanding for the first time since August 2022.
Survey respondents also cited signs of a turnaround in client confidence, helped by reduced political uncertainty and hopes that inflationary pressures would continue to ease in the months ahead.
‘Spring fever gripped the services sector early last month as supply chain managers reported a big leap in activity and the first improvement for half a year,’ CIPS Chief Economist John Glen said.
‘Companies enjoyed renewed customer confidence with the highest level of new orders in nine months. Improvements in the global marketplace made the wheels of activity turn a little faster and levels of export business rose for the third month in a row despite some ongoing supply chain disruptions.’
Published on Wednesday, UK manufacturing PMI rose to 49.3 points in February from 47.0 in January. This also was slightly ahead of the flash estimate of 49.2.
January had marked the longest period of continuous decline in the private sector since the global financial crisis in 2008-09.
The composite PMI is a weighted average of the UK’s manufacturing and services PMIs, compiled from responses to surveys sent to 650 services companies and 650 manufacturers, with data collected between February 10 and 24.
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