It suggested recent comments by the central bank about raising rates were intended to push up sterling and cool inflation. Sterling rose after the services PMI report, gaining about 0.4 percent. Services companies cited Brexit-related uncertainty and worries about the economy as reasons for their darker mood. But growth began to slow this year as inflation rose following the pound's post-Brexit vote plunge, which hit the spending power of households. IHS Markit's composite PMI, which combines services, manufacturing and construction, edged down to a seven-month low of 53.6 in September - leaving it some way off levels that would normally be consistent with BoE rate increases.

Source: New York Times October 04, 2017 08:37 UTC