UK PMI Survey Fuels Growth Optimism

The UK service sector continued to “expand strongly” in February, a survey has said, with job creation at its fastest pace for four months.

The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the sector was 58.2 last month.

While this was below January’s reading of 58.3, it was well above the 50 level that indicates expansion.

The Markit survey also found that confidence in the economic outlook rose to its highest since September 2009.

Similar surveys of the manufacturing and construction sectors have also shown growth during February, but the service sector dominates the UK economy and is the key driver of economic expansion.

“Alongside vibrant growth in manufacturing and construction, the upbeat picture of the services economy points to the country enjoying another quarter of robust economic growth of approximately 0.7%,” said Chris Williamson, Markit’s chief economist.

via BBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza