September data pointed to another solid increase in business activity across the UK service sector, with the rate of growth easing only slightly since August. The latest survey indicated the fastest rise in employment numbers for seven months, which firms attributed to the need to alleviate stretched capacity and meet long-term business expansion plans. Meanwhile, higher fuel prices led to another sharp rise in input costs, but relatively subdued demand conditions meant that output charges rose at the slowest pace since June 2017.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Services PMI Business Activity Index posted 53.9 in September, down from 54.3 in August. However, the latest reading was still above the 50.0 no-change value and slightly stronger than the average in 2018 so far (53.6).