BRITAIN’S manufacturers hit a three-year production high last month — as a steel deal was confirmed which will create 300 jobs.
The sector, in particular steel, has suffered in recent years.
The Steel factory has suffered in recent years
But yesterday’s upbeat new is a huge positive for the wider economy.
The monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing registered a score of 57.3 last month. A figure above 50 indicates growth.
It was way above the predicted figure of 54 and March’s score of 54.2. Connor Campbell, financial analyst at SPREADEX, called the figures “strong” and a “surprise”, adding they “made a mockery of analysts’ predictions of another weak month”.
Liberty House completed its £100million purchase of TATA’s Speciality Steels arm
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS MARKIT added: “This is a serious upward surprise — even allowing for the fact it is the manufacturing sector that has recently been showing the most life in the UK economy, helped by a competitive Pound and decent global growth.”
The figures give hope for the wider economy, after growth for the first three months of the year slumped to just 0.3 per cent, according to official Government figures released last week.
Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX CAPITAL, hailed “a very strong set of manufacturing numbers” which “reaffirmed the UK economy’s resilience in the face of Brexit”.
