The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) has fallen to its second-lowest level since June 2020, recording 45.4 in November, down from 47.7 in October. The index data showed that non-oil private sector production declined in November at the fastest pace since May 2020.

Shreeya Patel, an economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, has said that the decline in the price of the pound led to an increase in the prices of raw materials, noting that 42% of the companies surveyed said that they faced higher costs of production inputs. Still, only 14% of them resorted to raising selling prices. Oxford Economics has expected that the increase in the cost of production would be reflected in consumer prices in a way that the annual inflation rate in January would reach 19.2%.

PMI is an index of the prevailing direction of economic trends in the manufacturing and service sectors. It consists of a diffusion index that summarizes whether market conditions, as viewed by purchasing managers, are expanding, staying the same, or contracting. The purpose of the PMI is to provide information about current and future business conditions to company decision-makers, analysts, and investors.