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.
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.