Mumbai, May 6 -- UK service providers experienced a marginal downturn in business activity during April, thereby ending a 17-month period of expansion. This largely reflected a renewed downturn in order books.
Export sales were particularly subdued, with total new work from abroad decreasing at the fastest pace since February 2021. Survey respondents widely commented on risk aversion and delayed spending decisions among clients in response to rising global economic uncertainty.
At 49.0 in April, down from 52.5 in March, the headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Services PMI Business Activity Index was the lowest since January 2023. The latest reading signalled a marginal decline in overall output, which contrasted with modest growth ...