UK PMI Manufacturing was finalized at 54.1 in September, down from two-and-a-half year high of 55.2 in August. Nevertheless, reading stayed expansionary above 50 for the fourth consecutive month, longest streak since early-2019. However, Markit also noted further job losses reported.
Rob Dobson, Director at IHS Markit: ” Although rates of expansion in output and new orders lost some of the bounce experienced in August, they remained solid and above the survey’s long-run averages. Export demand is also picking up… Business sentiment remained positive as a result… There remain considerable challenges ahead…. especially true for the labour market, which saw further job losses and redundancies in September.
“The full economic cost incurred by 2020 will likely rise further as governments look to re-introduce some restrictions, job support schemes are tapered and rising numbers of firms start focussing on Brexit as a further cause of uncertainty and disruption during the remainder of the year.”
