UK manufacturing data better than expected

Headline PMI hit 52.9 in January on the back of a rise in domestic orders

British factories enjoyed a pick-up in activity last month but the flagging global economy took its toll on exporters and the manufacturing sector shed more jobs.

A closely watched measure of manufacturing, the Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index, beat economists' expectations and rose to a three-month high. The headline index hit 52.9 in January, up from 52.1 in December and well above the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction. Economists had forecast a slowdown and a reading of 51.7, according to a Reuters poll.

Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing #PMI at 3-month high of 52.9 in Jan'16 (52.1 in Dec'15) https://t.co/W0Jm2mDC8j pic.twitter.com/Fu05AiuxkH