However, it also indicated that the weak pound had pushed up firms’ costs.
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But Thursday’s survey suggests manufacturing, which accounts for 10 percent of Britain’s economy, is also weathering the initial impact of the vote better than feared.
New orders enjoyed one of the strongest month-to-month rebounds.
“Clearly there is a storming recovery in the headline index”, Investec economist Chris Hare said. The depreciation in the value of the sterling since the Brexit decision has been cited by many manufacturers as the reason behind the growth in export volumes.
New business grew at one of the quickest rates in the year so far, as companies benefited from strong demand on both the domestic and global front, while companies reported that work that had been postponed during July resumed, as manufacturers and their clients started to regain a sense of returning to business as usual.
“Companies reported that work that had been postponed during July had now been restarted, as manufacturers and their clients started to regain a sense of returning to business as usual”, Markit economist Rob Dobson said.
The final reading for Eurozone manufacturing PMI in August was revised lower to 51.7. “But the heightened volatility in the indicator in the last couple of months still raises questions about whether sentiment has overshot somewhat and, rather than this pace of expansion being sustained, some moderation is likely in the coming months”.
A PMI reading above 50 reflects expansion of business activity; a figure below that level indicates contraction.
The Bank cut interest rates to a new record low of 0.25% and expanded its programme of electronic money creation, known as quantitative easing, on 4 August.
Lurking beneath the surprisingly strong rebound in manufacturing shown by the latest Markit/CIPS PMI, there were clear signs that inflation is about to shoot higher -and perhaps in a big way. Factories reported that they increased output by the highest amount since January.
Combined with another month of growth in exports, whose gauge held at 52.5, and imports falling to 47 from 52, the report suggests the weakness in manufacturing may be related more to domestic demand.
New Prime Minister Theresa May wants to control immigration from the European Union while retaining strong trading ties, despite warnings from other nations that single market access is incompatible with limits on the free movement of people.
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De Lima said, on the price front, survey data highlighted softer increases in input costs and output charges and, in both cases, inflation rates were below their respective trends.
