The UK's key services sector expanded at the fastest rate of growth since last August, with new orders rising for the first time in three months.
There was also good news on inflation for the Bank of England, with the slowest pace of prices-charged inflation since February 2021, according to a survey of the sector by S&P Global.
The UK services purchasing managers' index (PMI) jumped to 52.8 for June, up from the 51.3 reading in the mid-month 'flash' survey and on the 50.9 for May, to the highest reading for 10 months.
The UK composite PMI for June, which includes the services and manufacturing sectors, rose to 52.0 from 50.3, beating the expected 50.7 by a long way.
June's PMI data highlights a "modest rebound in UK service sector growth, fuelled by a turnaround in domestic business and consumer spending after a soft patch during the spring," said Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Total new work picked up in June in spite of shrinking export sales, Moore said, noting that survey respondents cited headwinds from US tariffs and geopolitical tensions, resulting in subdued demand conditions across global markets.
Employment numbers in the services sector decreased for the ninth month running and at a faster pace than in May, with companies explaining that job shedding was a mix of redundancies and non-replacement of voluntary leavers, while Moore pointed to concerns about elevated payroll costs.
On inflation, he says the survey pointed to a "considerable slowdown" in overall cost inflation across services businesses.
"A combination of easing price pressures and lower employment leaves the door open for the Bank of England to resume its run of interest rate cuts at the next policy meeting in August."
Looking ahead, services companies remained optimistic about prospects for business activity growth over the next 12 months, citing turnarounds in order books and expected declines in borrowing costs, though the degree of positive sentiment dipped since May as some firms noted concerns regarding domestic economic prospects, elevated global trade uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.
The services PMI survey is compiled based on questionnaires sent to around 650 services companies in sectors ranging from consumer (excluding retail), transport, information and communication to finance, insurance, real estate and business services.