The UK service economy lost momentum in July, reflecting sluggish demand at home and abroad. The latest PMI® survey highlighted a slowing of business activity growth since June, while incoming new work decreased for the third time in the past four months. Subdued sales pipelines and concerns about rising input costs subsequently led to an accelerated pace of job shedding. On a more positive note, business activity expectations for the year ahead improved slightly in July. Optimism was comfortably above the average seen in the first half of 2025. At 51.8 in July, the headline S&P Global UK Services PMI Business ... (full story)