Manufacturing PMI – Reactive comment Bibby Financial Services (FX)
Andrew Perris, UK head of FX at Bibby Financial Services: “This month’s Manufacturing PMI paints a bleak picture of a beleaguered sector in its thirteenth consecutive month of contraction – with the latest figure falling to a low last seen three years ago during the pandemic.
“Raw material costs may have reduced, and supply chain issues seem to have stabilised, but manufacturing SMEs remain plagued by the scourge of ever-higher interest rates. For those businesses trading internationally, this pain is amplified by the knock-on increased volatility in foreign exchange rates, which has a direct negative impact on margins.
“Manufacturers will need to carefully weigh the competing benefits of building up stock in anticipation of an upsurge in demand, versus slimming down operations to pull through the difficulties of this period. Today’s news is clearly unwelcome, but this sector has proven its resilience time and time again, and I have no doubt that it will successfully navigate its way through the current storm.”
