The United Kingdom’s services sector rebounded in January, but this was accompanied by a record-high growth in charges during the month.
- The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Services PMI Business Activity Index stood at 54.1 in January, up from the 10-month low of 53.6 in December. This comes as firms reported an improvement in bookings in optimism beyond the omicron variant.
- A rebound was also seen in export sales, with firms reporting higher demand from Asian and American markets. Employment climbed during the month, driven mainly by stronger new order intakes and positive sentiment towards the coming year.
- Charges grew at the fastest pace since data collection 25 years ago, with firms reporting persistent pressures in the second half of 2021. Factors include another round of annual salary hikes, driving higher business overheads.
The majority of the firms expect growth in activity in the short term, marking the highest level of confidence seen in May 2021.
EWU is down 0.32% premarket.
Source: IHS Markit
