LONDON, May 23 Reuters Companies in Britain39;s services sector increased prices at a rapid pace in May as they saw another month of strong demand, according to a survey that could add to the Bank of England39;s worries about the persistence of high inflation.

Measures of inflation for services firms39; costs and their prices edged higher, although they are down on peaks seen shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the preliminary reading of the SP GlobalCIPS UK Purchasing Mangers39; Index PMI showed.

The BoE is watching prices in the services sector as an indicator of how much inflation pressure remains in the economy. It has increased interest rates at 12 meetings in a row since late 2021 and is due to announce its next decision on June 22.

Tuesday39;s PMI survey once again painted a contrasting picture for British businesses with services firms reporting growth in May albeit slowing slightly from April39;s oneyear high while manufacturing companies39; business shrank again.

SP Global39;s Composite PMI spanning both the services and manufacturing sectors dropped to 53.9 from the oneyear high of 54.9 recorded in April. But it remained in growth territory above the 50.0 level for the fourth month in a row.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at SP Global, said the PMI was consistent with quarterly gross domestic product growth of 0.4 in the second quarter, speeding up from 0.1 in the first three months of the year.

However, this growth spurt is…