LONDON (Reuters) – Growth in UK manufacturing activity was slightly stronger than expected in December and tensions in supply chains have eased somewhat, final results of the monthly survey show on Tuesday from IHS Markit to purchasing managers.
The sector’s PMI index rose to 57.9 against 57.6 in the first estimate, not far from the three-month peak reached in November at 58.1.
Rob Dobson, Director of IHS Markit, however, explains that the recovery remains weaker than that observed in mid-2021 due to supply difficulties and weak exports, due among other things to Brexit issues and the prospect of new health restrictions.
The sector’s workforce growth slowed but new orders and production grew faster than in November, the survey said.
At the same time, the increase in purchase prices returned to its lowest level in three months as selling prices showed an unprecedented increase.
(Report William Schomberg and Andy Bruce, French version Marc Angrand, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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