The S&P Global/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index tumbled to 47.9 in August from 50.8 in July, according to a preliminary estimate which was below all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the PMI pointed to a 0.2% fall in overall economic output during the three months to the end of September. British inflation has been slow to fall since it hit a 41-year high of 11.1% last year, and at 6.8% in July was the highest of any major economy.
The manufacturing PMI dropped from 45.3 to 42.5 in August, its lowest since May 2020, while the services sector fell from 51.5 to 48.7, matching January's two-year low.
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