Details of the July 2016 UK Markit/CIPS Services PMI data report 22 July 2016
Prior 52.3
New orders 45.5 vs 52.3 prior
Composite 47.7 vs 49.0 exp. Prior 52.4
New orders 46.2 vs 53.0 prior
Nearly everything is at the lowest since March 2009. Services employment was down for the first time since Dec 2012.
It's a stinker of a report no matter how you look at it. There's some bright spots, like a pick up in export orders but that's more like a twinkle of light than a full beam.
Chris Williamson at Markit had this to say.
"July saw a dramatic deterioration in the economy, with business activity slumping at the fastest rate since the height of the global financial crisis in early-2009.
The downturn, whether manifesting itself in order book cancellations, a lack of new orders or the postponement or halting of projects, was most commonly attributed in one way or another to 'Brexit'.
The one ray of light was an improvement in manufacturing export growth to the best for two years as the weak pound helped drive overseas sales, though producers also suffered the flip-side of a weak currency as import prices spiked higher.
At this level, the survey is signalling a 0.4% contraction of the economy in the third quarter, though much of course depends on whether we see a further deterioration in August or if July represents a shock-induced nadir. Given the record slump in service sector business expectations, the suggestion is that there is further pain to come in the short-term at least.
With policymakers waiting to see hard data on the state of the economy before considering more stimulus, the slump in the PMI will provide a powerful argument for swift action."
Naturally the pound has been clobbered on the data and we're currently trading down to 1.3166 from 1.3260 odd.
UK services PMI
