"UK manufacturing has made a brighter than expected start to 2012"
- Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit
The U.K. manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace for 10 months in March, Markit data showed on Monday. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index advanced to 52.1 from 51.5 in February. A reading above 50 signals contraction.
"UK manufacturing has made a brighter than expected start to 2012, with PMI data pointing to output growth of around 0.3% in the first quarter," Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit, said.
"This is obviously nowhere near a strong pace, but it is at least sufficient to prevent the sector from remaining a drag on broader GDP growth."
"Inflows of domestic and export orders also showed some improvement in March, but exporters are having to tap markets further afield as conditions in the eurozone remain lethargic."
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