LONDON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Britain's manufacturing industry continued the upturn trend in February, with production growth rate reaching a 17-month high, data from the S&P Global showed on Monday.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) has signalled expansions in each of the past four months, and manufacturing production rose for the fifth consecutive month. S&P Global attributed the output increase to higher intakes of new business and a modest improvement in client confidence.
It also underlined strengthened new export orders, with overseas demand rising at the fastest pace in four and a half years.
S&P Global posted the PMI for the whole manufacturing sector at 51.7 in February, little-changed from January's 17-month high of 51.8.
The outlook for the sector also remained relatively positive, with almost three-fifths of manufacturers expecting output to rise over the next 12 months, it added.
"New product launches, rising client confidence and planned investments are all forecast to help generate growth over the next year, offsetting some of the caution companies are still exhibiting due to recent government policy changes and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, especially in relation to U.S. tariffs," said Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
There were also signs of stabilization in employment, Dobson added, noting that the pace of job cuts eased in February, with the decline in staffing levels the mildest seen during the current 16-month downturn. ■