UK Preliminary Services PMI declines to 47.2 in September vs. 49.5 expected

UK Manufacturing PMI rose to 44.2 in September, above expectations of 43.0.
Services PMI in the UK fell to 47.2 in September, a big miss.
GBP/USD consolidates losses around 1.2250 on mixed UK business PMIs.

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) unexpectedly advanced to 44.2 in September versus the 43.0 expected and, 43.0 - August’s final print.

Meanwhile, the Preliminary UK Services Business Activity Index reached a 32-month low of 47.2 in September, compared with a 49.5 final print for August and the 49.2 expected figure.

Commenting on the flash PMI data, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said: “The disappointing PMI survey results for September mean a recession is looking increasingly likely in the UK.”

“The steep fall in output signaled by the flash PMI data is consistent with GDP contracting at a quarterly rate of over 0.4%, with a broad-based downturn gathering momentum to hint at few hopes of any imminent improvement,” Williamson added.

FX implications

GBP/USD is off the multi-month lows, still shedding 0.35% on the day to trade at 1.2250, as of writing.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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