UK service sector rebounds in February as recession fears start to fade

Business activity expanded in the sector for the first time since August

New figures suggest economy is now expanding rather than contracting (PA)

Britain’s service sector bounced back to growth last month in a sign that recession fears have eased and business optimism has improved. Economic activity grew for the first time in six months, and at the fastest pace since June.

The influential S&P Global/CIPS UK services PMI survey showed a reading of 53.5 in February, up from 48.7 in January. Any score above 50 is considered growth while a reading below indicates the economy is shrinking.

It marks the first time since August that business activity and volumes of incoming new work both expanded. The reading also came in slightly ahead of expectations, with a group of analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics predicting a score of 53.