LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) – UK manufacturing activity in December suffered one of its sharpest contractions since the 2008-09 recession due to a sharp drop in new orders and job cuts. jobs, the final results of the S&P Global survey of purchasing managers showed on Tuesday.
The sector PMI index came in at 45.3 last month after 46.5 in November. This is its lowest level since May 2009, apart from two months at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A first estimate had given it at 44.7, the 50 mark separating contraction and expansion of activity.
“The drop in new orders was worryingly large, with weak domestic demand accompanied by an even steeper drop in orders from overseas,” S&P chief Rob Dobson said.
“The main explanation behind the loss of export contracts was weak global economic conditions, while there were also mentions of Brexit-related issues (…) which led some customers of the European Union to source elsewhere,” added S&P Global.
The survey joins the outlook published last month by the trade association Make UK, which predicts a 3.2% drop in production in the sector in 2023. (David Milliken, French version Laetitia Volga, editing by Kate Entringer)
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