UK Manufacturing PMI Reaches Highest Level Since August 2024

A closely watched indicator of the UK's manufacturing sector health rose to its highest level since August 2024 in January, driven by the largest increase in new orders in nearly four years. According to Jin10, the final manufacturing PMI for January increased to 51.8, up from 50.6 in December and slightly above the preliminary reading of 51.6. The new orders sub-index jumped from 50.2 to 53.2, marking the highest level since February 2022, primarily due to the first growth in export orders in four years. Rob Dobson, Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, stated, "UK manufacturing has started 2026 on a solid footing, showing encouraging resilience. Business confidence has also positively rebounded to its highest level since the autumn 2024 budget." The data also revealed that manufacturing employment continued to decline, but the rate of decrease was the smallest since employment taxes were raised in October 2024. Meanwhile, the increase in business input costs reached its highest since August 2025.