"The downturn was felt across industry, with output scaled back across firms of all sizes and across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods sectors, although exporters did report a boost from the weaker pound. However, the improvement in exports was less marked than previously estimated, blamed in part on sluggish overseas demand".-Rob Dobson, PMI survey
The activity of manufacturing sector in the UK economy surprised to the downside during the previous month, slipping into the contraction territory, since Brexit-related uncertainty had a great effect on the UK factory sector. The manufacturing sector dropped at the fastest pace in three years as factories were forced to cut jobs due to higher costs and lower demand. According to the latest report conducted by market research group, the UK manufacturing PMI dropped to a seasonally adjusted 48.2 mark in July from a reading of 52.1 in June. Meanwhile, a reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, while below, in turn, means contraction. Companies reported uncertainty over the outcome of the 23 June Brexit referendum vote being weighed its performance after a one month. Moreover, job losses in the industry were also running at their second-highest level in more than three years.
In the meantime, news that the slide in manufacturing activity in July was steeper than first thought cemented a view that the Bank of England will cut interest rates this week in order to give a support to business and consumer spending.
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