"A fall had been likely given the early warning we got from the eurozone, but a fall of this magnitude, underpinned by a collapse in the orders, is really worrying"
- Alan Clarke, analyst with Scotiabank
U.K. manufacturing sector contracted in May, Markit data showed on Friday. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index slid to 45.9 from 50.2 in April. A reading below 50 signals contraction.
"This is a collapse, this is a huge decline," said Ross Walker, an analyst at RBS. "We're still a little bit above the lows we hit in the depths of the 2009 recession, but we're heading that way sharply."
"It's hard to dispute that there's some real broad-based decline going on," added Mr. Walker. "It certainly suggests the economy is not going to bounce back in [the second quarter]."
"A fall had been likely given the early warning we got from the eurozone, but a fall of this magnitude, underpinned by a collapse in the orders, is really worrying," said Alan Clarke, analyst with Scotiabank.
© Dukascopy Bank SA