LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) – British manufacturing cost pressures increased for the first time in four months in September, even as output grew at its slowest pace since March, according to purchasing managers’ data published on Thursday.
Factories reported the broadest rise in input costs since June while increases in prices charged also picked up speed, the S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index report showed.
“The big shift in September was in the survey’s price measures, which switched from signalling a decline in inflationary pressures to a renewed uplift,” Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.
• The survey’s headline reading edged up to 51.9 in September from 51.7 in August but its output gauge slowed to 51.5 from 52.1, its second monthly slowdown in a row.
• Investors expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates in November after warnings from Governor Andrew Bailey and other top officials that the energy spike caused by the Iran war threatens to stoke broader inflation.
• Business confidence was below August’s six-month high, reflecting concerns about the geopolitical, economic and domestic policy outlooks
• Employment expanded for the sixth consecutive month due to improved new orders and a desire to reduce backlogs of work but the pace of hiring was softer than August’s two-year high.
• The PMI data was based on responses from firms between September 10 and September 25.
(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by William Schomberg and Toby Chopra)
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