"The latest UK services PMI provides further evidence that the economy has lost most, if not all, of the momentum it had last summer," ING economist James Smith said. The headline IHS Markit/CIPS UK services PMI rose slightly more than forecast by economists polled by Reuters, to 51.2% in December. "(Clarity) on Brexit is needed urgently in order to prevent the economy sliding into contraction," said IHS Markit's chief economist, Chris Williamson. Nationwide said house prices had fallen 0.7% from November, the biggest monthly fall since July 2012. Economist Samuel Tombs from the consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics said the house price data amounted to "a bad end to the worst year since 2012."

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 04, 2019 15:45 UTC