A loosening of Covid-19 restrictions led to the restart of production of a number of firms in October. As a result, production growth was recorded for the first time in five months.

Firms remained optimistic that output will rise over the coming year, based on hopes that the pandemic will fade and new orders expand.

The bright spot in the latest PMI survey was employment, which increased at the fastest pace in three and a half years.

Manufacturers remained optimistic that production will increase in the next 12 months.

Business sentiment continues to improve with 57% of respondents predicting that output will increase over the coming 12 months, against 9% that expected a decrease.