Releasing the data for the March imprint of the Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI, the compilers of the survey said March’s imprint of 51.0 was “only a couple of ticks higher than February’s 34- month low of 50.8.”
As a result, Markit said, the quarterly average came in at a “relatively subdued level of 51.6, equalling the lowest recorded since the PMI first moved back above the neutral 50.0 mark in early 2013.”
Breaking down March’s numbers, Markit said the domestic market was the prime source of new contract wins.
The intermediate goods sector recorded the steepest expansions of both production and new business during the latest survey month, while the performance of the consumer goods sector also remained mildly positive, Markit said.
However, investment goods output growth continued to slow sharply.
“Softer global economic growth was reported to have tempered the trend in new work received from key trading partners such as the US and mainland Europe. There was also some mention of the weak oil and gas market impacting on sales to some regions – especially the Middle East,” the report said.
Rob Dobson, Markit senior economist said: “The UK manufacturing sector remained in the doldrums during the opening quarter of the year. Although March saw modest improvements in the trends for production and new orders, industry is still hovering close to the stagnation mark and will struggle to make a meaningful contribution to the next set of GDP growth figures.
