ECONOMIST VIEWS: DOES THE PMI POINT TO FURTHER WEAKNESS?
AZAD ZANGANA | SCHRODERS
The survey supports our view that GDP growth is likely to slow significantly in the second half of the year. The boost from the inventory cycle tends to be very short-lived, so we expect to see a significant slowdown in the third and fourth quarters.
ANDREW GOODWIN | E&Y ITEM CLUB
It was likely that growth would drop back to more sustainable rates once the boost from firms restocking faded. It is more likely that we will see a fairly slow and patchy recovery as both domestic and export markets adjust to the realities of fiscal austerity.
ALAN CLARKE | BNP PARIBAS
Less accommodative financial and monetary conditions suggested it was a matter of when rather than if the UK PMI would fall. The drop in the new orders-inventories balance points to a sharp fall ahead for output. It was a bad number and it is probably going to get worse.