The United Kingdom's manufacturing sector reached its highest levels in 10 years following a surge in orders due to the Government announcing an ease of lockdown restrictions, IHS Markit revealed on Thursday.
— IHS Markit PMI™ (@IHSMarkitPMI) April 1, 2021
Britain climbed to 58.9 points in March, surpassing analyst estimates, IHS Markit's Purchasing Managers Index found.
“The vaccine roll-out and clients’ preparations for the loosening of lockdown restrictions underpinned the expansion. Many expect this process to be supportive during the year ahead. The longer these inflationary and supply-chain worries persist, the greater the potential to curb the strength of the upturn," Rob Dobson, IHS Markit director said in a statement.
According to the report, the rebound in domestic and global economic conditions had shown rising optimism and job growth in British factories, with national business sentiment increasing to a seven-year high.
"With demand outstripping supply, input price inflation accelerated to a 50-month high. This also led to upward pressure on output charges, which rose at the quickest pace since January 2017," the report concluded.
Roughly two-thirds of manufacturers expected output to rise, with 6 percent expecting a contraction, the report read. Backlogs reached an 11-year high backed by supply chain constraints due to the ongoing pandemic.
The strong growth in Britain's manufacturing sector comes amid Downing Street's phase 2 vaccine rollout and ease of restrictions on 12 April, with further plans announced in May pending review.
