February saw the rate of expansion in the UK manufacturing sector slow back towards the stagnation mark. Output growth eased sharply, as levels of incoming new business showed littlemovement on one month earlier. The slowdown was also reflected in the labour market, with job losses registered for the second straight month. At 50.8 in February, down from 52.9 in January, the seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS Purchasing Manager’s Index® (PMI® ) posted its lowest reading since April 2013 – the first month of the current 35- month sequence of expansion. The growth rate of manufacturing production slumped to a seven-month ... (full story)