The UK private sector continued to expand in October, with the flash Composite PMI Output Index rising to 53.1 from 52.0 in September. This surpassed market expectations of 51.8 and marked an eight-month high. Growth was underpinned by the strongest increase in new business since September 2024.
Both manufacturing and services saw faster output growth. Manufacturing, in particular, registered its sharpest rise in activity in just over two years. Firmer demand also supported a return to employment growth for the first time since September 2024, bringing a two-year period of job cuts to an end, although the overall increase in staffing was modest.
At the same time, inflationary pressures strengthened. Input costs rose sharply, pushing overall cost inflation to its fastest pace since June. Business confidence about the year ahead improved slightly in October, but sentiment remained weaker than the survey’s long-run average.
