The official manufacturing PMI, prepared by the Office of National Statistics, rose to 50.1 points in January from 47.0 points in December.
Economists, on the other hand, had expected the manufacturing PMI to remain at 48.0 points, pointing to contraction.
Non-manufacturing PMI, which measures activity in the services segment, showed much stronger growth in January than in the manufacturing segment. With the reopening of the economy, non-manufacturing PMI rose to 54.4 points from 41.6 points in December.
Manufacturing PMI and non-manufacturing PMI are below the 50 points break-even level since September. underThey pointed to a contraction in economic activity.
