Live Roundups Editor's Desk Insights Executive Ops Weather About 🔍
Home › Business & Finance › UK interest rates increase expected after services...
Business & Finance

UK interest rates increase expected after services sector activity accelerates

The Guardian UK Wednesday 04 November 2026, 13:53 UTC By Phillip Inman 1 min read
Key Points

Purchasing manager’s index at eight-month high, bolstered by spending on AI as firms regain momentum since start of Iran warBusiness live – latest updatesThe Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates on Thursday after a closely watched survey showed growth across the UK’s services sector leapt last month to an eight-month high, bolstered by spending on artificial intelligence. S&P Global’s survey of the services sector in October showed businesses regained much of the momentum...

Purchasing manager’s index at eight-month high, bolstered by spending on AI as firms regain momentum since start of Iran war

The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates on Thursday after a closely watched survey showed growth across the UK’s services sector leapt last month to an eight-month high, bolstered by spending on artificial intelligence.

S&P Global’s survey of the services sector in October showed businesses regained much of the momentum they lost after the start of the Iran war, but also felt the impact of a renewed spurt of input price inflation, which accelerated to a five-month high.

Continue reading...
UK (LOCATION) AI (ORG) Iran (LOCATION) Bank of England (ORG) Global (ORG) the Iran war (EVENT)
Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

Related Stories

UAE Mulls Third Crude Oil Pipeline to Avoid Strait of Hormuz

EXCLUSIVE UAE Mulls Third Crude Oil Pipeline to Avoid Strait of Hormuz The United Arab Emirates is considering a third oil-export pipeline that will deliver crude outside the Strait of Hormuz, according to people familiar with the matter, as the country aims to sharply reduce its dependence on the waterway. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. is weighing building the pipeline to run from the UAE’s western coast to the port of Fujairah in the east, the people said, asking not to be identified...

Bloomberg Markets 17m ago

America’s Trade Deficit Remained Elevated in September

The gap between U.S. exports and imports, which remained at a relatively high level in September, has defied efforts by President Trump to decrease it with tariffs.

NYT Business 32m ago

Kemi Badenoch says Africans should apologise for slavery. She should read a history book

Enslavement’s devastating impact on Caribbean and African nations means that cross-diasporic solidarity has become central in addressing its legacyDon’t get The Long Wave delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereDespite reports that the UK attempted to keep reparations off the formal agenda for the Commonwealth summit attended by King Charles and the UK prime minister, they are in the air. British Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch is among those detractors who have argued that it is...

The Guardian UK 42m ago

Australia has an especially bad inflation problem. So why are we only middle-of-the pack on the misery index?

Comparing Australia to other countries may not be much comfort but does offer some perspective on the economyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIs Australia’s inflation problem worse than the rest of the world’s?A day after the Reserve Bank delivered its fifth interest rate hike for the year, increasingly stressed mortgage holders would be justified asking.

The Guardian World 43m ago