UK manufacturing activity climbs to an eight-month high
UK manufacturing activity expanded further in March, continuing on a recovery path as producers in the country start the year on on a bright note.
The seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI), which collates factory bosses' responses to questions on topics such as their level of new orders, climbed to an eight-month high of 54.4 in March, ticking higher from 54.0 in February.
The PMI has now remained above the neutral 50.0 mark for 24 consecutive months. Moreover, the average reading for the opening quarter as a whole (53.8) was the best growth outcome since the second quarter of last year.
Wednesday’s headline reading was ahead of expectations and comes a day after fourth quarter 2014 GDP was revised higher to 0.6% on the previous three months, from a preliminary estimate of 0.5%, driven by rising house prices and robust consumer spending. The manufacturing data will be welcomed by the Conservative party ahead of May’s general elections.
“Encouragingly, the new export orders balance rose to its highest level in seven months, suggesting that the recent rise in the pound is not acting as too big a constraint for now,” said Vicky Redwood, economist with Capital Economics.