UK’S economic growth slows sharply in August

Britain's post-lockdown economic bounce-back slowed sharply in August as firms struggled with unprecedented shortages of staff and materials, but strong inflation pressures cooled a bit, a survey showed on Monday. The IHS Markit/c IPS flash composite PMI dropped for the third month in a row, sinking to 55.3 from 59.2 in July, its lowest since February and a sharper fall than a median forecast of 58.4 in a Reuters poll. The pace of growth was slightly above the pre-pandemic average but "there are clear signs of the recovery losing momentum in the third quarter after a buoyant second quarter", said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. On a brighter note, a measure of employment hit a record high as furloughed workers return to their jobs and businesses were more optimistic about future output.