George Osborne is dealt a blow on the morning of the Autumn Statement as a key survey of Britain’s services raises the prospect of a “triple-dip” into recession.
An unexpected slowdown in Britain’s vast services sector raised the prospect of a “triple-dip” recession, dealing a blow to the Chancellor.
Growth in the sector slowed to its weakest in almost two years in November, according to the closely-watched purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey from Markit.
The monthly survey came in at a 23-month low of 50.2, down from 50.6 in October, where any reading below 50 signals that activity contracted. Economists had forecast a reading of 51.
The findings pointed to the risk of a “new downturn” in the final three months of the year, said researchers at Markit. In contrast to official data, which showed special factors helped the UK economy grow 1pc in the third quarter after shrinking 0.4pc in the second, they said the PMI surveys show an underlying trend of “near-stagnation”.
Telegraph has the full article
