UK February final manufacturing PMI 46.9 vs 46.4 prelim

• Prior was 48.3

Key Findings:

• Manufacturing PMI at 14-month low of 46.9
• Steepest job losses since mid-2020
• Output and new orders fall at faster rates

Comment:

Rob Dobson, Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence:

“February PMI data show UK manufacturers facing an increasingly difficult trading environment. Weak demand, low client confidence and rising cost pressures are accelerating the downturns in output and new orders, while the Autumn Budget's changes to the national minimum wage and employer NICs are driving up inflation fears and intensifying the downward trend in staff headcounts. The pace of manufacturing job losses is currently running at a rate not seen since the pandemic months of mid-2020.

"Cost and demand considerations also encouraged cutbacks to purchasing activity and stocks, as the tough economic backdrop placed manufacturers on an increasingly defensive footing. Input costs are rising at the fastest pace for over two years, as suppliers front load expected increases in their own wage and NIC costs. Factory gate selling price inflation has also hit a 22-month high. This combination of absent growth and rising prices will contribute to a growing dilemma for the Bank of England over the coming months."