The dominant services sector grew at its fastest pace in seven months in March, a closely watched survey reported yesterday.
The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the sector jumped to 58.9 last month, from 56.7 in February. Any mark above 50 signals growth.
The survey gives an early indication of how the economy fared in the first three months of the year. Markit predicts that official statistics, released days before the election on May 7, will show that GDP growth has improved from the 0.6 per cent recorded in the final quarter of last year.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said that its three PMI surveys, which include construction and manufacturing, indicated that the economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the first