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The UK manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than four years in November, data from IHS Markit showed Friday.
The IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 58.2 in November from revised 56.6 in October. This was the highest score since August 2013.
The score was forecast to rise moderately to 56.5 from October's originally estimated value of 56.3.
On its current course, manufacturing production is rising at a quarterly rate approaching 2 percent, providing a real boost to the pace of broader economic expansion, Rob Dobson, director at IHS Markit, said.
Production expanded at the fastest pace since September 2016. Companies linked this to stronger inflows of new orders, data showed.
At the same time, staffing levels climbed for the sixteenth successive month, with the rate of jobs growth the highest since June 2014.
On the price front, data revealed that output charges continued to rise at a substantial clip, the fastest for seven months and among the highest during the past six-and-a-half years.
