Economy surging ahead

Services drives economic growth The UK economy picked up speed again in October with IHS Markit’s flash composite purchasing managers’ index hitting 56.8 for the month, up from 54.9 in September and the highest reading since May. Growth was driven by the services sector, whose activity outpaced manufacturing output by the widest margin since 2009. Chris Williamson, IHS Markit’s chief business economist, said the recovery, “is looking increasingly dependent on the service sector, which in turn looks prone to a slowdown amid the recent rise in COVID-19 cases.” He added: “Growth is also being accompanied by an unprecedented rise in inflationary pressures, which will inevitably feed through into higher consumer prices in coming months.”