Prior 52.5Final Composite PMI 52.0 vs 51.7 prelimPrior 52.5Key findings:Service sector output rises for third month in a row Input cost inflation strongest since June amid surging fuel prices Business optimism moderates from August's six month highComment:Tim Moore, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Moderate output growth was maintained across the UK service economy in September, albeit with a loss of momentum in comparison to August. Moreover, subdued demand conditions and rising inflationary pressures contributed to weaker business activity expectations for the year ahead. "New order intakes increased only slightly in September and at the slowest pace for three months. Geopolitical tensions, squeezed consumer budgets and higher borrowing costs were cited as sales headwinds. Resilient demand for technology services remained the main bright spot, while some firms noted receding risk aversion among clients. "September data marked two years of continuous cutbacks to employment numbers in the service sector amid ongoing efforts to reduce overheads. However, greater-than-expected business requirements seem to have helped to stem the jobs downturn in recent months, with the latest fall the slowest since October 2025. "Surging fuel prices due to the Middle East conflict continued to drive up input cost inflation in September. This led to the sharpest increase in prices charged by service sector companies since May and therefore signalled a clear reversal of the slowdown seen in the middle of 2026."The market reaction to the data has been muted. Keep in mind, that markets react more to new information, especially the one that changes the prevailing expectations. That's why the preliminary PMIs generally trigger bigger moves, while the final PMIs are mostly ignored. In terms of market pricing, the expectations for the Bank of England haven't changed. The market is still expecting a rate hike at the upcoming meeting with an 85% probability. This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.