The latest survey of purchasing managers suggests bad news for Britain:
The U.K. economy likely contracted in July as businesses responded to the uncertainty created by a vote to leave the European Union by cutting output and payrolls, according to a survey of purchasing managers at manufacturers and service providers….The U.K. PMI is a measure of activity based on monthly questioning of 600 manufacturing companies and 650 service providers since 1998. It has a close correlation with official measures of economic growth.
….Markit said the measure fell to 47.7 in July from 52.4 in June, the sharpest one-month drop on record. A reading below 50.0 signals a decline in activity, and a reading above that level indicates an expansion.
Is this a temporary dip, or a sign of things to come? Obviously we don’t know yet. But that’s a helluva big drop for a single month.