ISTANBUL
The UK’s manufacturing activity downturn deepened in December, with the year ending in contraction, according to an S&P Global report released on Thursday.
The UK’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell from 48 to 47 last month, its lowest level in 11 months, falling short of the forecast of 47.3.
Manufacturing production and employment fell for the second consecutive month, the report said.
As rising costs in the country resulted in job losses, business optimism fell to its lowest level in two years.
Director of S&P Global Market Intelligence Rob Dobson said: “A stagnating domestic economy, weak export sales, and concerns about future cost increases led to the sharpest contraction in UK manufacturing production in almost a year in December.
“Manufacturers are facing an increasingly pessimistic picture.”
