British service sector sustains strong growth in December

Britain's dominant service sector maintained its strong growth momentum in the last month of 2013, with activity, new business and employment all again rising at marked rate, said a survey report on Monday. The report jointly issued by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) showed the PMI service index, also called business activity index, was at 58.8 in December, which is down from 60 in the previous month and also at a six month low. A reading of 50 points or greater of the index indicates expansion, while below 50 indicates contraction. The report said despite a drop in the PMI index, the service sector, which accounts for more than 70 percent of British economy, still signalled a historically strong rate of expansion in December. It said market confidence was high, while predicting that the positive trends in activity and new business will continue in 2014. "Combined with still strong growth in manufacturing and services, the PMI surveys suggest that the pace of economic growth will have accelerated in the fourth quarter from the 0.8 percent expansion seen in the third quarter," said Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at the Markit. "If the buoyancy of the surveys in the fourth quarter is borne out by the official data, the economy will have grown by 1.9 percent over the course of 2013; which would be the best we've seen since 2007," he said. Williamson predicted further strong growth outlook for Britain in 2014, as optimism about the year ahead hit the highest since early 2010.