The latest of the closely-watched PMI surveys suggests uncertainty is gripping the economy with little sign of a pick-up ahead.
The gloomy forecast did little to help the pound as it retreated on growing market fears the Bank of England may be forced to cut interest rates to help stoke demand in the economy.It was trading below $1.26 versus the dollar. Its weakness helped boost dollar-earning companies on the FTSE 100 which was trading at 10-month highs following the PMI release at 7603 - a rise of 0.6% on the day.
"The pace of growth has eased markedly since peaking a year ago, resulting in a steady deterioration in demand. Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said he did not believe a recession was on the way.
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