Elliott Jordan-Doak, an analyst at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said UK manufacturing activity should slowly rise in the next few months. Despite falling short of market expectations, the UK manufacturing PMI for December rose from 50.2 last month to 50.6, hitting a 15-month high. Jordan-Doak said the easing of post-budget policy uncertainty, a rebound in activity after the Jaguar Land Rover cyber attack, and improved external demand boosted market sentiment. He said, “Most sub-indices of manufacturing PMI improved in December, which gives us reason to be optimistic that economic activity will continue to improve in the first quarter.” Despite this, high borrowing costs and further tariff uncertainty are likely to continue to drag down economic activity in 2026. “As a result, PMI is likely to peak soon.”

Elliott Jordan-Doak, an analyst at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said UK manufacturing activity should slowly rise in the next few months. Despite falling short of market expectations, the UK manufacturing PMI for December rose from 50.2 last month to 50.6, hitting a 15-month high. Jordan-Doak said the easing of post-budget policy uncertainty, a rebound in activity after the Jaguar Land Rover cyber attack, and improved external demand boosted market sentiment. He said, “Most sub-indices of manufacturing PMI improved in December, which gives us reason to be optimistic that economic activity will continue to improve in the first quarter.” Despite this, high borrowing costs and further tariff uncertainty are likely to continue to drag down economic activity in 2026. “As a result, PMI is likely to peak soon.”