Although the UK PMI manufacturing came in...>

UK DATA: Although the UK PMI manufacturing came in better than expected, note

that this was partly supported by a decrease in suppliers' delivery times. This

normally signals excess demand that suppliers can't cope with in times of boom

and is therefore interpreted as a positive in the number. However, in this case

it is due to factory shutdowns in China disrupting supply chains.

- "Manufactures also commented on a headwind from extended shutdowns in China,

with stocks of inputs falling at the fastest pace for over seven years and

vendor lead times lengthening to the greatest extent since March 2019. Moreover,

the seven point drop in the suppliers' delivery times index since January

signalled the largest month-on-month slide in supply chain Comment performance

since the survey began in 1992, exceeding the previous record seen during the UK

fuel protests in September 2000." (Markit press release)

- Also on coronavirus: "Despite early signs of disruptions to export sales and

business operations from the COVID-19 outbreak, latest data indicated that

output growth expectations across the UK private sector edged up slightly since

January and remained the highest since June 2015." (Markit press release)