March rounded off a positive start to 2012 for UK manufacturing, but conditions in the sector remain tough overall. Output and new orders expanded throughout the opening quarter, with rates of increase ticking higher at the end of Q1. However, the increase in output was heavily supported by a depletion in backlogs of work and record inventory building. Cost inflationary pressures are also intensifying due to high oil and metal prices. The seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index® (PMI®) rose to a ten-month high of 52.1 in March, from a revised reading of 51.5 in February. The PMI ... (full story)