UK Manufacturing PMI Fell Below Expectations in December

Activity in the U.K.'s manufacturing sector slowed in December, having posted the fastest growth in over four years the previous month, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday.

Financial information firm IHS Markit Ltd. said its purchasing managers index for the manufacturing industry fell to 56.3 in December, down from 58.2 a month earlier. The 50-point line separates expansion from contraction in activity.

The December figure was below the expectations of analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal, who forecast a reading of 57.9.

While growth of output and new orders moderated in the final month of the year, rates of expansion remained comfortably above long-term trend rates, Rob Dobson, director at IHS Markit, said.

Input and output inflation also slowed, signaling that the recent surge in price growth--spurred by the pound's collapse in the wake of the Brexit vote--is beginning to abate.

Write to Wiktor Szary at Wiktor.Szary@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 02, 2018 05:07 ET (10:07 GMT)