UK economy near standstill as Brexit approaches, surveys show
Services companies cut staff at the fastest rate in more than seven years and consumers rein in their spending
London — Britain’s economy came close to stagnating again in February as services companies, preparing for Brexit, cut staff at the fastest rate in more than seven years and consumers reined in their spending, surveys showed on Tuesday. The figures suggested growth in the world’s fifth-biggest economy is near a standstill as Prime Minister Theresa May tries to win last-minute Brexit concessions from Brussels. IHS Markit, a data firm, said its UK services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed Britain’s economy was set to grow by just 0.1% in the first three months of 2019 compared with the last three of 2018. After touching its lowest level in January since immediately after the Brexit referendum in 2016, the services PMI edged up to 51.3 from 50.1. That was better than the median forecast of 49.9 in a Reuters poll of economists. Brexit uncertainty But Howard Archer, an economist with EY Item Club, a forecasting firm, said the risk was very real that economic growth in the first qu...
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