CIPS Flash UK Composite PMI24 Mar 2021 10:02
UK private sector returns to growth in March, led by fastest increase in service activity since August 2020
Flash UK Composite Output Index
Mar: 56.6, 7-month high (Feb final: 49.6)
Flash UK Services Business Activity Index
Mar: 56.8, 7-month high (Feb final: 49.5)
Flash UK Manufacturing Output Index
Mar: 55.6, 3-month high (Feb final: 50.5)
Flash UK Manufacturing PMI
Mar: 57.9, 40-month high (Feb final: 55.1)
“The UK economy rebounded from two months of decline in March, with business activity growing at its fastest rate since last August as children returned to schools, businesses prepared for the reopening of the economy and the vaccine
roll-out boosted confidence. Companies reported an influx of new orders on a scale exceeded only once in almost four years, and business expectations for growth in the year ahead surged to the highest since comparable data were first
available in 2012. Employment consequently rose for the first time since the pandemic struck as firms expanded capacity in response to the new inflows of work and brighter outlook.
“The surge in business activity is far stronger than any economists expected, according to Reuters polls, and hints at only a modest contraction of GDP during the first quarter, adding to evidence that the economy has shown far greater
resilience in the third lockdown compared to the first. The encouraging readings on future expectations, job creation and new order inflows meanwhile all point to robust economic growth in the second quarter, especially if virus restrictions
are lifted further.