Looming tax increases and mounting cost pressures have sent a “winter chill” through British factories, piling pressure on to a sector that posted the weakest growth in nearly a year last month, a closely watched survey showed.
The final S&P Global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector slipped to 47 in December, down from 48 in the previous month and lower than an earlier estimate of 47.3. December’s reading was the lowest for 11 months.
The latest fall pushed the PMI further away from the 50-point threshold that separates growth from contraction. The survey has remained below this mark for three months in a row, signalling that British factories scaled back production in the final quarter of 2024.
Experts attributed falling activity to