Beating all expectations
According to the latest survey results, the UK’s manufacturers have had their best month since 2013 in November.
Beating all expectations of sluggish economy, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 58.2 in the month, up from 56.6 in October. The rise marked the highest point in over four years, in another positive sign amid the Brexit uncertainty.
Following this, Sterling climbed to $1.3515, before slipping back to around that level a few minutes later, leaving it down a quarter of a percent on the day.
Reports also sugest that new orders for investment goods jumped at the quickest rate since 1994, and companies reported continuing support to exports from the droopy sterling exchange rate, although the report’s compilers say mentions of this “were less prevalent than earlier in the year”.
PMI surveys ask respondents about hiring, orders, prices and the like to form a rounded view of corporate health.
Rob Dobson of IHS Markit, which compiles the PMI survey, told media that manufacturing now seemed to be rising at a quarterly rate of 2 per cent “providing a real boost to the pace of broader economic expansion”.
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