British manufacturing activity expanded for a ninth straight month in July but at the slowest pace in four months, ​according to purchasing managers’ data that points ‌to a renewed impact from the Iran war towards the end of last month.

The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index for Britain’s manufacturing sector fell to ​51.9 in July from 52.5 in June, in contrast to ​an earlier provisional or flash reading of 52.8, which ⁠was the third highest reading of the past four years.

“The month-on-month ​fall in the level of the PMI was due to a ​steep reduction in stocks of purchases, slower jobs growth and a sharp easing in the rate of increase in vendor lead times,” S&P Global said.

  • The ​manufacturing PMI’s output component rose to 52.9 from 52.6, representing the ​broadest growth since September 2024 but a smaller increase than the flash reading ‌of ⁠53.6
  • Readings above 50 represent growth, while those below it represent contraction
  • The data was collected from July 9 to July 28, while the cut-off for the flash reading was July 24
  • A truce between the ​United States and ​Iran broke ⁠down in mid July and Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July ​20, pushing oil prices above $100 a barrel on July ​23 and ⁠July 24
  • Manufacturers reported the smallest rise in input costs since February while employment levels stagnated
  • Small manufacturers reported a mild downturn in production volumes ⁠in ​July while medium and larger ones ​reported growth
  • Official data showed a 2.3 per cent annual rise in manufacturing output in May, the biggest ​increase since March 2024