- Rob Dobson, a senior economist at Markit
Growth in British manufacturing sector slowed in August as export orders dropped for a fifth straight month. UK manufacturing PMI dropped to 51.5 last month, compared with 51.9 in July. Markit Economics said companies blamed the decrease in foreign demand on the strong Sterling, weak sales in the Euro land and China's economic slowdown. Moreover, after two years of job creation, August saw a reduction in headcount in the sector. Looking ahead, the British Chamber of Commerce predicts the next few months as a challenging time for manufacturing. In its latest quarterly economic survey, the BCC found that manufacturing was an obstacle for the UK's economic growth.
A separate report showed UK mortgage approvals surged more than expected in July, while net lending on property rose the most in seven years, reinforcing the view of strengthening momentum in the housing market. Home-loan approvals rose to 68,764, the most since February 2014, and up from a revised 67,069 in June. Net mortgage lending was 2.7 billion pounds, the most since July 2008. This was the third straight rise in mortgage credit, which had slowed earlier in the year. Business lending rose 734 million pounds in July after plunging a record amount in the preceding month, the BOE said.
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