Engineering news
Manufacturing growth posted a surprise slowdown to its weakest pace for seven months in April, according to the latest CIPS/Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey.
The sector posted a reading of 51.9 on the closely-watched survey – where 50 separates growth from contraction. It was down from 54 in March.
The data revealed that while consumer goods were still performing strongly, activity producing intermediate goods - those produced for sale to other companies - fell into contraction.
Manufacturing firms said that while the domestic market was doing well, the strength of the pound was hitting competitiveness in the eurozone, the UK's largest trading partner. New export orders contracted at their worst pace since January 2013.
Jobs continued to be added but at the slowest pace since June 2013. Meanwhile firms were hit by a decline in output prices, which saw the steepest rate of deflation since September 2009.
Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit, said: "Today's UK PMI delivered less than positive news on the health of the manufacturing sector.
"Rates of expansion in production and order books both slowed sharply in April, meaning manufacturing is again unlikely to provide much of a boost to broader economic growth.
"A key challenge for the next government is to revive manufacturing and help it at least regain its pre-crisis peak, as any signs of rebalancing the economy towards
manufacturing and exports remain frustratingly elusive."
The survey comes days after official figures showed that wider UK GDP growth had slowed to 0.3%, its weakest pace in more than two years, in the first quarter of 2015.
Latest GDP figures show that while the wider economy has now surpassed its pre-recession peak in 2008, manufacturing remains 4.8% below where it was seven years ago. It is the dominant services sector that has led the UK to recovery.
Lee Hopley, chief economist at EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, added: "Recent data points to a marked loss of momentum in manufacturing activity since the start of the year.
"While consumer facing sectors are still forging ahead thanks to low inflation and a pick-up in wage growth, any sign that export growth was about to turn around at the end of last year now looks to have been a false dawn," Hopley added.