Cost of living crisis: UK has done less to ease burden of high petrol prices than other nations in Europe, figures suggestDuncan Brock, group director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said:"July's results may have shown a marginal reduction in manufacturing output but its significance as the first fall since May 2020 should make business leaders and policymakers sit up and take notice.
"A reduction in the level of new orders from domestic customers clearly showed that the pressure of cost of living rises for basics such as fuel and energy made consumers think twice about non-essential purchases. "Even a further easing of supply chain pressures was not enough as lead times continued to be a trial of endurance at historically high levels."The rate of cost inflation also slowed marginally but did nothing to improve the mood of manufacturers with optimism unchanged from last month's low levels."