UK Manufacturing Sector Bounces Back in July

The United Kingdom's manufacturing sector has shown promising signs of recovery in July, with the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) climbing to a six-month high of 48, up from 47.7 in June. Although this figure slightly missed expectations, it marks a significant step towards stabilization.

Key sectors rebound: The consumer and intermediate goods sectors have returned to growth after contracting for eight and five months, respectively. However, output, new orders, employment, and stocks of purchases continue to indicate contraction.

Expert insights: "The UK manufacturing sector is starting to send some tentatively encouraging signals," noted Rob Dobson, Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. He highlighted that factory output nearly stabilized and future output expectations reached their highest since February, but warned, "There is no assured path back to strong growth."