LONDON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Growth in the British services sector accelerated slightly in July, according to a survey of purchasing managers released on Thursday.
The services PMI from IHS Markit/CIPS showing business activity rose to 53.8 in July, up from a four-month low of 53.4 in June and ahead of economists' predictions of 53.6 (above 50 is growth, below is contraction).
Chris Williamson, chief economist at IHS Markit, which produces the surveys said the figures suggested the British economy was "on course for another steady but sluggish expansion in the third quarter", consistent with a 0.3 percent economic growth achieved in the second quarter.
The services PMI together with those for the manufacturing and construction sectors released earlier in the week show a slight rise in the composite PMI, up to 54.1 from 53.8. This is just below the long-run average.
Sam Hill, chief UK economist with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) said the indicator suggests that if the level of the PMIs were to hold for the rest of Q3, it would be consistent with real GDP growth of 0.3 percent quarter on quarter.
Hill told Xinhua: "The breakdown of the surveys shows that the relative historical strength in manufacturing is offsetting below-average readings in construction and services.
"New orders in manufacturing reversed some of last month's large loss of momentum, because of a near-record outturn on new export orders," said Hill.
One of the areas of concern is the sharp drop-off in new orders in the construction sector. At 48.1 (from 53.0), that indicates the flow of new business is now contracting in construction, with commercial rather than housing activity seeming to be the source of weakness, said Hill.
"What the surveys do show though is that there is tentative evidence the slowdown in growth in H1 2017 does not look like a blip," he added.
A single purchase
