Export orders surge to 7-year high

BRITAIN’S economy was boosted last month by the strongest surge in manufacturing export orders for more than seven years, a survey showed yesterday.

Foreign demand for UK goods rose more quickly in July than at any time since April 2010.

Manufacturing production increased for the 12th month in a row and nearly half of managers surveyed expected further increases over the next year.

Meanwhile job creation in the sector was running at its best rate for three years. The good news, published in the closely watched Markit-CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, sent the pound to a new 10-month high against the US dollar.

The boost was partly put down to the fall in the value of sterling since the Brexit referendum, making British goods cheaper overseas. Rising growth in key markets in America, Asia and the eurozone was another factor.

Inflation pressures also eased off for producers, giving hope that rises in the cost of living may be slowing to relieve pressure on family budgets and help steer Bank of England policymakers away from raising interest rates at their next meeting tomorrow.

Rob Dobson of IHS Markit said the report showed manufacturing had begun the third quarter of 2017 on a “solid footing”.

Lee Hopley of manufacturers’ organisation EEF said firms “appear to be riding high” but that the Bank of England still had a “balancing act” to perform.

Duncan Johnston of Deloitte said the report suggested the sector was “in good health, contrary to some expectations”.