Manufacturing recovery stalls

Strong increases in export orders could not save manufacturers from an overall weak November, according to new figures.

The closely watched index from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) shows that activity fell from a downwardly revised October level of 51.6 to 51.0 last month.

October originally recorded a reading of 51.7.

Last month's figure is the survey's lowest reading since August, while October's reading had marked the industry's strongest growth of the year.

Analysts had expected no monthly change and anticipated last month's recovery to provide a base from which the industry could continue to gradually improve.

Despite the regression, the survey is not disastrous, said John Butler, economist with HSBC.

Butler claimed the industry's volatility highlights the current state of the economy and predicted that the upcoming service sector survey will provide greater clarity as to the condition of UK economic growth.

Meanwhile, the CIPS survey shows that new orders also took a tumble, dropping from 53.6 in October to 52.2 last month. Output likewise fell slightly from 53.8 to 53.5 in November.