Business at Britain's banks, restaurants and hotels continued to expand last month, according to the latest figures from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) The CIPS business activity index for the services sector rose to 55.6 in October from an unrevised 55.5 the previous month, which was broadly in line with expectations. A reading above 50.0 indicates expansion
Earlier, Ireland's index for the sector came in at 54.6 in October, its highest level since May, but the overall eurozone index only rose to 50.1 from 49.1 Elsewhere, Britain's manufacturing sector looked to be in trouble in September when factory output fell for a second month in a row. New figures from National Statistics show that output fell 0.4pc in September from August, far worse than the unchanged reading that had been expected
British industry is unable to increase production levels due to sluggish global economic recovery, which is hitting demand for UK products on the export market. Ireland's manufacturing sector is suffering a similar fate; its October manufacturing PMI dropped to a 2002 low as export demand declined at the fastest pace for ten months //www.fxcentre.com