After reporting a strong PMI figure for China, Markit posted slightly positive numbers for the United Kingdom, a sign that its austerity, unemployment and lack of demand for goods and services from Europe have not taken an awful toll. Markit reports:
Business conditions in the UK manufacturing sector edged closer to stabilisation in November, as levels of new work held broadly steady and production posted a modest increase. However, trends in output were uneven across the sector, with contractions at capital and intermediate goods producers offsetting strong growth in the consumer goods sector.
At 49.1 in November, up from October’s three-month low of 47.3, the seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) remained below the neutral 50.0 mark for the seventh straight month. The average reading so far in Q4 2012 (48.2) is slightly above that recorded for Q3 (47.8).
Douglas A. McIntyre
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