Omicron hits UK and US service sector growth; German inflation highest since 1992 – as it happened

Activity weakened across UK services sector last month, as hospitality firms suffer cancellations and staff shortages

• Cancellations rose in December - ONS
• Britain's services sector growth weakest since last lockdown
• Germany's CPI inflation rose to 5.3% in December
• UK car sales weak, despite boom in electric vehicles
• Markets hit by prospect of US interest rate rises
• Global food prices hit 10-year high

Britain's car industry has recorded its second worse year for sales since 1992, as the pandemic and chip shortages hit the sector.

Industry body the SMMT has reported that new car registrations grew by just 1% last year, with 1.65m new cars entering the UK market. That's 28.7% less than in 2019.

It's been another desperately disappointing year for the car industry as Covid continues to cast a pall over any recovery.

Manufacturers continue to battle myriad challenges, with tougher trading arrangements, accelerating technology shifts and, above all, the global semiconductor shortage which is decimating supply.

Reflecting growing appetite for greener vehicles, sales rose from 108,000 in 2020, when battery-powered cars accounted for just 6.6% of new cars bought in Britain. In December 2021 alone, electric cars made up 26% of sales, a record for a single month when physical dealerships were allowed to open during the Covid pandemic.