United Kingdom Manufacturing PMI Drops to 51.9 as Iran War Impacts Industry

United Kingdom Manufacturing PMI Drops to 51.9 as Iran War Impacts Industry

LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – British manufacturing activity expanded for a ninth straight month in July but at the slowest pace in four months, ​according to purchasing managers’ data on Monday that points ‌to a renewed impact from the Iran war towards the end of last month.

The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index for Britain’s manufacturing sector fell to ​51.9 in July from 52.5 in June, in contrast to ​an earlier provisional or flash reading of 52.8, which ⁠was the third highest reading of the past four years.

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“The month-on-month ​fall in the level of the PMI was due to a ​steep reduction in stocks of purchases, slower jobs growth and a sharp easing in the rate of increase in vendor lead times,” S&P Global said.

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• The ​manufacturing PMI’s output component rose to 52.9 from 52.6, representing the ​broadest growth since September 2024 but a smaller increase than the flash reading ‌of ⁠53.6
• Readings above 50 represent growth, while those below it represent contraction
• The data was collected from July 9 to July 28, while the cut-off for the flash reading was July 24
• A truce between the ​United States and ​Iran broke ⁠down in mid July and Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July ​20, pushing oil prices above $100 a barrel on July ​23 and ⁠July 24
• Manufacturers reported the smallest rise in input costs since February while employment levels stagnated
• Small manufacturers reported a mild downturn in production volumes ⁠in ​July while medium and larger ones ​reported growth
• Official data showed a 2.3% annual rise in manufacturing output in May, the biggest ​increase since March 2024

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