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Closing summary
Britain’s economy is at growing risk of recession, with industry figures showing the sharpest monthly fall in private sector activity, outside of the Covid pandemic, since the financial crisis.
In a sign that higher interest rates and the cost of living crisis are combining to depress consumer demand, the latest snapshot from S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Cips) showed a steep drop in the UK’s dominant service sector and manufacturing output in September.
Aside from pandemic disruptions to the economy, the latest decrease in the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was the steepest since March 2009.
On Thursday, the Bank of England halted its most aggressive round of interest rate increases in decades on Thursday amid growing concerns over the economy, holding borrowing costs at 5.25% after 14 previous rises. It said it was given early sight of the S&P Global/Cips data before its decision.
Our other main stories today:
Thank you for reading, and have a great weekend. We’ll be back next week. Take care! – JK
European shares are still drifting lower, with the exception of the UK’s FTSE 100 index which is 25 points, or 0.3%, ahead at 7,703. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones is flat, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has gained 0.4% and the S&P 500 edged 0.2% higher.
With this, we are wrapping up for the day and the week.
