The Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) Manufacturing PMI rose to 49.1 points in November – up from the three-month low of 47.3 seen in October. But as the index remains below 50 points it shows manufacturing activity shrank over the month.
Overall production in the manufacturing sector rose for the first time in five months in November, moving from 45.1 points to 51. However, demand from the UK market remained subdued and the level of orders for export showed further deterioration.
David Noble, chief executive at CIPS, said: “The most that we can say about November’s manufacturing performance was that it was simply less bad than the previous month.
“Although the sector is stabilising, it is still being battered on two fronts – with depressed domestic demand and weak demand from key markets overseas – particularly Europe and the US.”
The improvement in the PMI’s headline reading offers some better-than-expected news ahead of chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement on Wednesday 5 December. But the overall weakness makes it unlike that manufacturing will stop the UK from heading back into recession over the fourth quarter.
Samuel Tombs, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “The small improvement in the UK CIPS/Markit manufacturing survey in November does little to change the fundamental picture of a struggling industrial sector.
“It seems increasingly likely that the recovery in manufacturing output in the third quarter was driven entirely by temporary factors.”
