Urgent.. Release of PMI indicators for the manufacturing and services sectors in the UK.

Data released by IHS Markit, a subsidiary of S&P Global, on Monday morning showed a negative preliminary reading for the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector in the UK for the current month of December, with the preliminary reading recording a contraction at 47.3 points. This was below market expectations, which indicated a reading of 48.4 points, and it was also lower than the previous reading for November, which recorded 48.0 points.

At the same time, the preliminary reading showed that the PMI for the services sector in the UK recorded growth at 51.4 points during December, which was above market expectations that had forecast a reading of 50.9 points. The reading for the previous month of November had recorded growth at 50.8 points.

It should be noted that a reading above 50 indicates growth in activity in both the manufacturing and services sectors, while a reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity. Typically, two readings for this index are issued within a week: the preliminary estimates and the final reading, with the preliminary estimates being released first and usually having a stronger impact.