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British services PMI picks up to 59.5 in April

Xinhua, May 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

British services purchasing managers' index (PMI), a gauge measuring the industry activity, increased to 59.5 in April 2015 from 58.9 in a month prior, said Markit Economics Limited Wednesday.

The reading was higher than the market estimates consensus of 58.5, recording the 28th successive month that the activity index staying above the 50.0 no-change mark.

Service providers in Britain began the second quarter of 2015 on a solid footing, as the business activity increased at the fastest rate since August 2014, said the London-based survey compiler.

The sector's volume of new business saw a further marketed rise, employment growth remained strong and sentiment was at an elevated level despite some uncertainty linked to the forthcoming general elections in Britain, said Markit.

The reading is also contrasted with British manufacturing and construction PMI that Markit released earlier.

British manufacturing and construction PMI slipped from 54.0 and 57.8 in March to 51.9 and 54.2 in April, worse than market estimates.

Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit, said: "The PMI surveys suggest the economy is showing robust growth momentum, expanding at a rate of 0.8 percent at the start of the second quarter."

But he added: "There are warning lights flashing about the sustainability of growth, and any new government is faced with the challenge of boosting business confidence and reviving investment in particular.

"Rather than rebalancing towards manufacturing, economic growth has become increasingly reliant on the service sector, and the consumer is having to drive growth as investment spending remains disappointingly weak amid heightened political uncertainty," he noted.

The services sector dominates the UK economy, contributing around three quarters of the GDP, according to Office of National Statistics (ONS). Endit