The U.K.'s economic rebound over the summer may prove "premature or even a mirage," S&P Global Ratings said on Monday.
The ratings agency pours cold water on data such as the August Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the services sector, which showed a sharp bounce last month and raised hopes that the hit from the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union (EU) in June might have been temporary.
"While the news is encouraging, we believe it has no bearing on the cloudy longer-term outlook for the U.K. economy," S&P economists Sophie Tahiri, Boris Glass and Jean-Michel Six said.
"Any celebration about the rebound in August and conclusion that life has returned to 'business as usual' may prove to be a mirage, at least in the longer-term It is unclear when exactly the U.K. will start the likely laborious process of quitting the EU, after its people voted by a margin to quit the economic and political bloc. It also unknown what sort of relationship the U.K. might maintain with the EU once it leaves the bloc."
S&P predicted the longer-term impact of the vote would be felt gradually.
"The uncertainty surrounding the U.K's future outside of the EU and the associated economic risks, which we think are pronounced and predominantly skewed to the downside, is likely to gradually take its toll, particularly on investment, as businesses start dealing with the new Brexit reality," the S&P economists said.
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