Service sector hits winter low
The closely watched Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a reading of 51.7 in March, down from 54.5 in February.
It is the weakest service sector performance since July 2016, according to the survey.
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Hide AdBusinesses were disrupted by unusually bad including snow last month, which contributed to lower consumer spending.
“Heightened economic uncertainty” also affected the service sector, acting as a “brake on growth”, the report said.
It marks further bad news for the UK economy after separate PMI data earlier this week showed a contraction in the construction sector and only a marginal month-on-month improvement in manufacturing.