Interest rates brake services expansion
28 August 2012
June's rise in interest rates made it harder for some UK services companies to win new business last month, according to the latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) report.
But activity in the sector still made another big monthly rise. The July services sector business activity index - a composite indicator of business conditions from CIPS and NTC Research - stood at 56.2, a fall on June's 56.8 but still well above the 50 figure that indicates no change on the previous month.
The hotels and restaurants sector enjoyed the sharpest...