Manufacturing activity falls for first time since 2003
29 August 2012
The UK manufacturing sector contracted in April for the first time in nearly two years, according to the latest purchasing managers' index (PMI).
The overall PMI - a composite indicator of sector conditions from CIPS and NTC Research in which 50 indicates no change on the previous month - fell to 49.5, from 51.6 in March.
Input price inflation maintained its recent decline, falling to 62.5, the lowest in more than a year. High prices for oil, steel, plastics and timber fuelled the rise.
However, the...