2018.03.0104:57:00UTC+00UK Manufacturing Growth At 8-Month Low

The British manufacturing sector expanded at the weakest pace in eight months in February, survey data from IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply showed Thursday.

The Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, dropped slightly to 55.2 in February from 55.3 in January. Economists had expected the index to fall to 55.0.

However, any reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

Output growth moderated to an eleven-month low in February despite improving demand and job creation.

Employment levels rose at the second fastest rate since the middle of 2014.

On the price front, price pressures remained elevated in February, but eased since January.

UK manufacturers' outlook also remained positive in February, with almost 56 percent of companies forecast that output would be higher in one year's time.

"If supply chains are still challenged, rising costs for manufacturers are cascaded to consumers and Brexit uncertainty returns, the manufacturing sector may not have the fuel necessary to power itself into a winning position towards the end of the first quarter," Duncan Brock, Director of Customer Relationships at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said.