At 54.3 in May, down from 57.4 in April, the headline seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index revealed a marked slowdown in output growth across the service economy. The latest increase in business activity was the weakest since the beginning of 2017. Although service providers commented on a generally favourable demand backdrop, survey respondents noted that more cautious consumer spending patterns had held back growth in May. In some instances, softer business activity expansion was also attributed to transport disruptions in May