A survey has shown that Britain's service sector expanded at its slowest pace in seven months in April and firms' pricing power eased to its weakest this year.
The CIPS/Royal Bank of Scotland service sector index fell to 57.2 from 57.6 in March - the lowest since September and below expectations for a reading of 57.5.
The prices charged index slipped to 53.9 from 55.3 in March - the lowest rate of increase in four months - while companies' costs also showed their weakest rise this year, with the input prices index easing to 58.6 from 59.3.
The slowdown in price rises should come as welcome news to Bank of England policymakers as they fret about a surge in inflation, although it did not dent expectations for a rise in borrowing costs next week.
CIPS said that even though service companies' costs continued to rise in April, strong competition prevented them from passing on the increase fully to customers. Companies took on fewer staff last month, pushing the employment index down to its lowest level in nearly a year at 52.5.
