UK business activity contracted for the fifth time in the past six months during November, marking the economy's worst spell since 2009. Brexit and general election uncertainty caused further postponements or cancellations of orders and spending, leaving firms focusing on cost reduction, notably via further job losses. Exports fell especially sharply. Future expectations picked up to a four-month high, however, as no-deal Brexit worries eased.
PMI signals fourth-quarter GDP decline
The headline IHS Markit/CIPS Composite PMI - a GDP-weighted average of the output indicators from the manufacturing, construction and services surveys - fell from 49.5