UK factories collapse at worst month since Brexit vote – PMI

LONDON (Reuters) – British plants have had their worst month since the October 2016 vote at the 2016 Brexit, due to concerns over the country 's upcoming departure from the country. European Union and the increasing global trade tensions, revealed a survey.

The clearest sign of the slowdown in the UK economy after a strong summer is the PMI Purchasing Managers Index (IHS Markit / CIPS), which dropped to 51.1, its lowest level since July. 2016, against 53.6 in September.

The reading was lower than all the forecasts of an economists poll conducted by Reuters.

New order books and contract jobs for the first time since July 2016.

"In October, the performance of the UK manufacturing sector was marked by a worrying turnaround," said Rob Dobson, director of IHS Markit.

"At current levels, the survey indicates that factory production could contract in the fourth quarter, down 0.2%."

Foreign demand fell for the second time in three months. Some companies said Brexit uncertainties cost them work from the EU.

Many manufacturers are worried about the risks of border delays that could affect their processes just in time.

Prime Minister Theresa May is opposed to her Brexit project in her own conservative party, but has yet to find a common ground with the other EU leaders, fear that Britain will leave the EU without a transition agreement.

Other companies have pointed to rising global trade tensions and declining demand in the global auto industry.

The manufacturing sector accounts for about 10% of Britain's economic output.

Until now, the world's fifth largest economy has shown itself to be more resilient to the decision to leave the EU than many forecasters predicted during the Brexit vote.

Strong consumer spending over the summer led to faster growth in the quarter ending in August.

However, there are signs that the Brexit approach in less than five months – and that no agreement has been reached to smooth the UK's exit from the bloc – is weighing on companies.

Official figures show that the manufacturing industry did not contribute to economic growth in the first half of 2018.

The Bank of England, which is due to announce its monetary policy decision for November at 12.00 GMT, is expected to largely maintain interest rates until it better understands what Brexit will mean to the UK economy.

Thursday's PMI showed that UK mill input prices had risen at their slowest pace in 28 months, but still remained high due to higher commodity prices and the fact that Brexit had value of the pound sterling.