Investing.com - U.K. service sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in ten months in August, pointing to a continued strong recovery in the sector, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, market research group Markit said the seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS Services Purchasing Managers Index rose to 60.5 last month from a reading of 59.1 in July. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 58.5 in August.
On the index, a level above 50.0 indicates expansion in the industry, below 50.0 indicates contraction.
Underpinning the latest rise in activity was another sharp gain in underlying volumes of new business.
Commenting on the report, Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at survey compilers Markit said, “The sustained elevated PMI readings suggest we will see another quarter of strong economic growth in the third quarter, similar to the 0.8% expansions seen the first two quarters of the year."
GBP/USD was trading at 1.6484 from around 1.6480 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7974 from 0.7976 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained broadly higher. London’s FTSE 100 tacked on 1%, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 1.65%, France's CAC 40 advanced 1.45%, while Germany's DAX rallied 1.8%.