LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The UK manufacturing sector contracted unexpectedly in May, for the first time since July 2016, survey results from IHS Markit showed Monday.
The headline IHS Markit/ Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index declined more-than-expected to 49.4 in May from 53.1 in April. The score was forecast to fall moderately to 52.0.
The total volume of new business placed fell for the first time in seven months. Export orders declined at the fastest pace in over four-and-a-half years, reflecting Brexit uncertainty.
The renewed downturn in new orders weighed on both output and employment. Output charges inflation rose to a three-month high in May, largely due to a marked acceleration for consumer goods.
Further, the survey showed that almost 49 percent expect output to be higher in 12 months' time, compared to 7 percent forecasting contraction.
'With one of the fastest shrinking rates seen in six and a half years and the biggest drop since July 2016, straight after the referendum result, based on this result, there is the likelihood of more bad news to come,' Duncan Brock, group director at the CIPS, said.
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