Shafaqna English– Data from the purchasing managers’ survey for July, published on Monday(3 Aug 2026), indicates that Britain’s manufacturing industry continued to grow for the ninth straight month; however, the rate of expansion decelerated significantly, marking the weakest performance recorded in the past four months.
The slowdown is being largely linked to a renewed impact from the geopolitical tensions associated with the Iran war, which seemed to have exerted downward pressure on demand and output levels during the latter half of July, reversing some of the sector’s earlier resilience.
The PMI for Britain’s manufacturing sector, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 51.9 in July, down from 52.5 in June, reflecting a clear deceleration in the pace of growth. This outcome is in contrast to the earlier preliminary reading of 52.8—a figure that had initially signaled optimism as it was the third highest in four years.