LONDON - British services companies suffered a less severe downturn in September than first feared, reflecting a surprise fall in inflation and the Bank of England's decision to leave interest rates on hold, a business survey showed on Wednesday.
While marking an eight-month low, it was much better than a preliminary"flash" reading of 47.2 that shocked investors and may have swayed Bank of England officials, a slim majority of whom voted to leave interest rates on hold last month. Tim Moore, economics director at data company S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the services sector remained on a negative trajectory - but noted that some companies were becoming more optimistic about cooling price pressures.
"Worries about elevated borrowing costs and stretched household budgets were nonetheless cited by survey respondents."