United Kingdom: Manufacturing PMI rises in February; services PMI dips but remains in positive territory
The IHS Markit/CIPS UK services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from a revised 53.9 in January (previously reported: 52.9) to 53.3 in February, but remained above the threshold that separates expansion from contraction in activity. The IHS Markit/CIPS manufacturing PMI increased from a revised 50.0 in January (previously reported: 49.8) to 51.9 in February, a 10-month high.
Greater political certainty following the elections continued to buttress activity according to survey respondents, although some firms noted that the coronavirus outbreak had restrained demand from Asia. Employment, input and output prices all rose in February.
Tim Moore, associate director at IHS Markit, commented:
“While there are positive signals for UK businesses on the domestic front, the latest PMI findings highlight a number of concerns from an international perspective following the COVID-19 outbreak. Service providers often commented on reduced tourism-related bookings and cancellations from overseas clients in affected markets. Manufacturers noted that abrupt shortages of components from China had reverberated through their supply chains and led to difficulties sourcing critical inputs. The downward trajectory of the suppliers’ delivery times index since January was the steepest since the survey began.”