According to a new survey, the British manufacturing industry has hit a seven-month high in February.

The Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased to 54.1 points in February, which was higher than predicted in a Reuters poll of economists and suggests British manufacturing output is growing at a quarterly rate of around 0.5%.

Senior economist at survey compiler Markit, Rob Dobson, commented "This reinforces the picture of a broader growth revival in the UK so far in the opening quarter."