The worriers about UK prospects often like to highlight the opinion p0lls of economic facts, the PMI figures giving an indication of how orders and confidence is trending in business.
Today’s figures show an acceleration in manufacturing orders and output prospects , with the Index surging to 57.4 where anything over 50 means growth. There is also a slowing of input price inflation. This is not surprising given the levelling off in oil prices and the fall in some other raw materials. China has also stopped raising her prices in recent week after a period of substantial rises in manufactured goods costs.
This is all positive for the second quarter output figures in due course.
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