British industry posted its strongest growth in April

British industry posted its strongest growth in more than a quarter of a century in April. The purchasing managers index climbed by 2.0 to 60.9 points, according to the IHS Markit institute for its monthly company survey. That is the highest value since July 1994. "The further relaxation of the corona restrictions at home and abroad led to another significant surge in growth in the British factories," said Markit economist Rob Dobson. Orders rose more strongly than they have been in around seven and a half years, which points to a sustained upward trend. Two thirds of the companies expect production to be higher in a year than it is now. However, not all that glitters is gold. "Export growth remains relatively subdued as small manufacturers struggle to export," said Dobson. Supply chain problems and rising inflationary pressures were also concerns. The Brexit and Corona-related disruptions, especially in the ports, also led to a record-breaking extension of delivery times. The British economy crashed by almost ten percent in 2020 due to the pandemic - about twice as bad as the German one. A strong recovery is expected for this year, also because the country made great progress in vaccination early on. However, it could take until 2022 for economic output to return to its pre-crisis level. The British economy as a whole is also growing. For example, GDP growth of 0.4 percent was last reported for February. "The British economy is holding up better than many expected, especially since March should bring another plus," said Commerzbank economists Bernd Weidensteiner and Christoph Balz in an analysis. Industry contributed to this, increasing its production by 1.3 percent in February. "It is also remarkable that the British industry - despite the additional burden of Brexit - has done by no means worse than the continental European", emphasized the two economists. "So the British and German production trends are practically the same." Great Britain left the EU in 2020. The trade and cooperation agreement that was only negotiated at Christmas has been in effect since the beginning of 2021, which entails numerous changes and often a higher bureaucratic effort for companies.