The weaker pound helped boost orders…
According to a survey the UK’s manufacturing sector saw a new two-and-a-half-year high last month.
The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the sector rose to 56.1 in December from 53.6 just a month before. Any figure above 50 highlights expansion.
The survey found, the weaker pound helped boost orders overseas.
Despite this it also said that cost pressures faced by firms remained high.
Rob Dobson, senior economist at IHS Markit, said: “The UK manufacturing sector starts 2017 on a strong footing,”
“Based on its historical relationship against official manufacturing output data, the survey is signalling a quarterly pace of growth approaching 1.5 per cent, a surprisingly robust pace given the lacklustre start to the year and the uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum.”
“The boost to competitiveness from the weak exchange rate has undoubtedly been a key driver of the recent turnaround, while the domestic market has remained a strong contributor to new business wins.”
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