BOE may up rates amid strong manufacturing PMI

London

BRITISH manufacturers reported robust growth last month and rising inflation pressure, an industry survey showed, adding to the chances that the Bank of England (BOE) will raise interest rates on Thursday for the first time in a decade.

The HIS Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 56.3 in October from an upwardly revised 56.0 in September.

That exceeded its long-run average and bucked economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll for a slight decline.

"UK manufacturing made an impressive start to the final quarter of 2017 as increased inflows of new work encouraged firms to ramp up production once again," said Rob Dobson, a senior economist at HIS Markit, which c…