U.K. services PMI posts steepest fall since 2001

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch)
Growth in Britain's dominant services sector slowed sharply in August, according to the Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers index.
The PMI fell to 51.1 from 54.4 in July.
A reading of more than 50 indicates growth in activity, while a figure of less than 50 signals contraction. Economists had forecast a more modest decline to 54.0.
The fall in the PMI reading was the steepest since the April 2001 decline triggered by the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in British livestock.
"As the sector clings onto growth, purchasing managers are also suffering from a wavering trend in new business," said David Noble, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, adding that riots in parts of Britain during August "didn't help to stave off the loss in momentum since July."