UK manufacturers hit by sharpest rise in cost inflation since Black Wednesday in 1992

The UK’s manufacturers have suffered the sharpest one-month acceleration in costs since the aftermath of Black Wednesday in 1992, as conflict in the Middle East has driven up oil prices, new survey evidence shows.The closely watched purchasing managers’ index (PMI) lays bare the impact of the conflict on the UK economy, with growth slowing sharply across manufacturing and services and costs rising.Chris Williamson, the chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which collects the data, said: “Output growth across manufacturing and services has slowed to a crawl as companies blamed lost business directly on the events in the Middle East, whether through heightened risk aversion among customers, surging price pressures, higher interest rates, or via travel and supply chain disruptions.”He added: “Inflationary pressures have surged higher on the back of rising energy prices and fractured supply chains.”The survey showed the highest reading for input price inflation in manufacturing since October 2022 – with the month-on-month change the largest since the fallout from Black Wednesday in 1992.Sterling plunged after Black Wednesday, driving up the cost of imports, after the then government ratcheted up interest rates in a failed attempt to remain inside the European exchange rate mechanism.S&P said the rapid increases in costs mainly related to fuel, transportation and energy-intensive raw materials.The composite PMI index, covering services and manufacturing, stood at 51, suggested the economy was still expanding in March (50 marks the breakeven between growth and contraction) – but at a sharply slower pace than the 53.7 seen in February.Emily Sawicz, a director and industrials senior analyst at RSM UK, said: “Sentiment remains fragile, with manufacturers noting only modest dip in overall confidence. This cautiousness reflects broader uncertainty around the path of inflation, interest rates and the resilience of household and business spending.“Despite some resilience, geopolitical tensions remain a key concern for UK manufacturers – underscoring that conditions remain highly uncertain. The recovery many hoped to see take hold in 2026 now appears likely to be delayed at best, as rising energy costs and persistent inflation risks threaten to slow momentum.“Should these pressures intensify, the sector’s fragile recovery could even slip back into decline later in the year.”Looking ahead, companies reported a decline in new orders, and falling export sales – including the fastest decline in new orders from abroad since April last year. “Anecdotal evidence pointed to the postponement of new projects in the Middle East and the impact of reduced international travel,” S&P said.Now in its fourth week, the US-Israel war on Iran has seen global oil and gas prices surge and disruptions to supply chains for a range of different products due to destruction of infrastructure in the Gulf, and the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz.The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will set out in the House of Commons on Tuesday the government’s thinking about how it might cushion the blow for consumers if the disruptions prove prolonged.