UK manufacturing production in first rise since March 2008

There are hopes that the UK’s beleaguered manufacturing industry is recovering after the Purchasing Managers’ Index from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) said output in the industry rose for the first time since March 2008 in June.

The index showed a reading of 52.1 - anything above 50 is positive and indicates growing production.

While today’s figures will add to hopes that the downturn is easing, the figures still show falls in many key areas of the industry, such as new orders and employment, albeit these falls have eased further.

Commenting on the figures, David Noble, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, said: “The latest PMI data suggests that after months of gloom and doom, there are some signs of relief for the UK manufacturing sector.”

“Most encouragingly, purchasing managers said that output, which is a key component of the PMI index, has risen for the first time in 15 months indicating that the sector may finally be coming out of recession,” added Mr Noble.

The figures come just a day after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the UK economy shrank by 2.4% in the first three months of 2009 - far worse than expected and the biggest quarterly decline in 51 years.

The fall was primarily blamed on weaker output in the construction and services sectors. According to the ONS, the recession has now been running for a whole year.

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