UK on track for first quarter pickup

Britain's dominant service sector expanded less than expected in February, a business survey showed on Monday, but the economy still looks on track for modest growth in the first three months of this year after shrinking at the end of 2011. The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for services, published on Monday, fell to 53.8 from 56.0 in January, which had been a 10-month peak.
The latest reading was below forecasts for a dip to 54.9, but stayed well above the 50 mark which separates growth from contraction. Economists said the combined surveys pointed to economic growth in the first quarter, with some putting it at about 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter after a 0.2 percent contraction in the last three months of last year.