UK Manufacturing PMI: production contracts at faster pace as new orders decline at sharpest rate for 19 months

The UK manufacturing sector’s downturn continued in April, with output, new orders and employment all decreasing last month. Meanwhile, input cost inflation hit a 28-month high, further exacerbating the newly effective minimum wage and National Insurance hikes. Despite the seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rising slightly to 45.4 in April,…