Britain: Processing at a 13-month low in March

British manufacturing grew at the slowest pace in 13 months in March and price pressures, which had shown some signs of “easing”, worsened.

S&P Global manufacturing PMI fell to 55.2 from 58 in February.

The index for new orders was at its lowest level since January 2021, having been hit by the slowdown in domestic demand and the sixth drop in seven months for export orders.

S&P Global has linked declining orders to geopolitical tensions, Brexit and ongoing supply chain problems, although the delays were the shortest since October 2020.

Overall, the research points to more difficult times ahead for the British economy, with growth expected to slow amid rising global inflationary pressures fueled by the commodity market turmoil following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“At the end of the first quarter, there was a significant slowdown in growth in the UK manufacturing sector,” S&P Global said.

Inflation hit a 30-year high in February and the budget office last week predicted it would close at 9% by the end of 2022, contributing to the biggest drop in living standards since the 1950s.