-UK CIPS Jul Manufacturing PMI 45.4: Markit/Reuters
LONDON (MNI) – UK manufacturing activity hit a 38-month low in
July, with the sector contracting sharply.
The headline Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply
index from Reuters plunged to 45.4 in July from a revised 48.4 in June,
its lowest reading since May 2009 and well below analysts’ median
forecast for a 48.0 outturn.
Export orders plunged, posting their fastest fall since February
2009. The first of the UK Q3 PMIs shows manufacturing getting off to a
very poor start and suggests it could well act as a drag on the expected
rebound in economic activity in Q3.
The fit between the CIPS surveys and the official growth data,
however, has not been tight.
Markit said its Q2 PMIs showed suggesed “a slight 0.1% fall in GDP
growth”, but the official data showed a much sharper contraction of 0.7%
on the quarter.
–London newsroom: +44 207 862 7491; email:drobinson@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: MABDS$,M$B$$$]
