October saw struggles in UK factories, the latest indication of a slowdown

According to a survey released the day before the Bank of England is scheduled to reiterate its intention to maintain high-interest rates in spite of broad indications of an economic slowdown, Britain's factories had a worse October than previously believed.

The S&P Global/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) ended up with a final value of 44.8, which was lower than the preliminary estimate of 45.2.

The output component shrank for the eighth consecutive month, the longest such stretch since the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, despite the overall activity index rising from 44.3 in September.

Consumers reduced their orders both domestically and internationally, manufacturers laid off workers, and industry optimism reached a record low this year.

One encouraging indicator for the BoE was the fall in selling prices and prices paid by factories, which occurred for the sixth consecutive month and pointed to a further easing of some of the inflation pressure in the British economy.

In an effort to combat the risks to the economy posed by an inflation rate that is still higher than three times its target of 2%, the Bank of England is predicted to maintain its Bank Rate at 5.25% on Thursday, marking its second consecutive no-change decision following fourteen rises.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)