The UK’s dominant service sector lost momentum in February, according to the latest PMI® survey data from Markit and CIPS. Growth of both total business activity and new business were the weakest since March 2013, leading firms to raise employment at the slowest pace in two-and-a-half years. More positively, the volume of outstanding work rose following January’s decline. The 12- month outlook for the sector improved to a threemonth high, but remained weaker than the longrun survey average. Inflationary pressures remained weak, both in terms of input prices and prices charged by service providers. The headline figure ... (full story)