UK manufacturing growth picks up as Trump tariff chaos eases
📰 source: theguardian_business · 💼 business
uk manufacturers ramped up production for a fourth straight month in july, at the fastest pace in almost two years, according to s&p global's survey. the purchasing managers' index dipped to 51.9 from 52.5 in june, still above the 50 expansion level, keeping a nine-month run alive. the rebound follows a torrid two years after donald trump's tariffs hit the industry.
new orders rose for an eighth month, with export demand coming from the us, canada, the eu, mainland china, india and south korea. but hiring barely moved: staffing increased for a fourth month, though growth eased to near-stagnation. s&p global's rob dobson called july 'further encouragement,' citing faster growth in output, new orders and exports. he said the hiring pause should be short-lived as backlogs build.
others are less optimistic. matt swannell of the item club expects a difficult second half, with the middle east conflict pushing oil and gas prices up and raising business costs. ginni cooper at mha said manufacturers have proved resilient amid volatile commodity prices.
why it matters: uk factory growth at two-year high but middle east conflict and energy costs could stall the recovery.
source: theguardian_business
sentiment: +0.30 · impact: 0.40