+0.2 on previous index reading
At 90.7 in June 2019, the Business Pulse was broadly unchanged on the month but down 7.1 on a year ago. The Services Pulse recovered some lost ground this month whereas the other sectoral Pulses posted lower readings. With the global backdrop unsettled and Brexit uncertainty back in the spotlight, industrial and construction firms reported softer order books, while businesses more generally scaled back their expectations for activity over the next three months. The June survey also finds that over two in five firms in the industry, services and retail sectors, and some three in five builders, have seen a rise in non-labour input costs in the past three months. Nonetheless, the majority expect to keep their near-term selling prices the same.
