- Prior 51.2
It's a slight revision lower to the initial reading but still reaffirms a marginal growth in UK's manufacturing sector. Both output and new orders continued to expand for a second successive month. However, price pressures remain stubborn with input cost inflation rising to a 17-month high. That's a troubling sign for the BOE. S&P Global notes that:
“The UK manufacturing sector is enjoying its strongest spell of growth for over two years, with June seeing output and new order growth sustained at robust rates similar to May's recent highs. The performance of the domestic market remains a real positive, providing a ripe source of new contract wins. In contrast, the ongoing weak export performance is concerning, with manufacturers reporting difficulties in securing new business in several key markets including the US, China and mainland Europe.
"Although June also saw manufacturers maintain a relatively high degree of optimism towards the future, this was not sufficient to lessen their focus on cost minimisation and cash flow protection. This led to further job losses, cuts to non-essential spending and efforts to operate on leaner stock holdings. This is coming from a backdrop of renewed cost inflation pressure, with manufacturers' input prices now rising at the quickest pace since the start of 2023. This renewed upward lurch in manufacturing prices will likely add to concerns over the potential stubbornness of underlying inflationary pressures among hawkish rate setters at the Bank of England.”
