The U.K. manufacturing sector expanded at the slowest pace since early 2013 in February, data from Markit showed Tuesday.
The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index fell more-than-expected to 50.8 in February from 52.9 in January. This was the lowest reading since April 2013.
It was forecast to drop to 52.3 in February.
“The near-stagnation of manufacturing highlights the ongoing fragility of the economic recovery at the start of the year and provides further cover for the Bank of England’s increasingly dovish stance,” Rob Dobson, a senior economist at Markit said.
The growth rate of manufacturing production slumped to a seven-month low in February. At the same time, manufacturing employment fell for the second consecutive month.
Price pressures remained on the downside in February, as both input costs and output charges fell further.
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