UK Factory Exports Drop Ahead of Trump’s Wave of Global Tariffs

Demand for UK factory exports tumbled at the fastest pace in over 1 ½ years, as orders dried up and confidence wilted under the threat of a tit-for-tat tariffs skirmish between Donald Trump’s US administration and major trading partners.

S&P Global’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slipped deeper into contractionary territory to a 17-month low of 44.9 in March, down from 46.9 the previous month.

While it was slightly better than economists’ expectations for an unchanged reading of 44.6, the final PMI pushed the sector further below the 50 threshold that separates growing and shrinking output. A sign of the ...