UK PMI: jumping ahead of the end of lockdown

Commenting on this morning’s UK PMI data, Melanie Baker, Senior Economist at Royal London Asset Management said:

“Despite continued lockdown, the UK PMI composite jumped – the improvement driven by both services and manufacturing.

“The improvement in the employment PMI was particularly welcome given how weak this part of the PMI survey has been for so long. The successful vaccine rollout will likely help explain the further pick up in business optimism too.

“However, gains in business sentiment do look very vulnerable to any set-backs in the government’s ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown. There were indications in the survey that higher levels of activity were partly driven by businesses already stepping up preparations for the loosening of social distancing restrictions.”

-ENDS-

The views expressed are the author’s own and do not constitute investment advice.