Another one for Boris Johnson to sort out: UK manufacturing shrinks again, data reveals

Britain's manufacturing activity slumped in December for eighth month in a row, hit by Brexit jitters and global tre tensions, data showed Thursday.

IHS Markit UK Manufacturing purchasing manrs' index (PMI) stood at 47.5 last month, group said in a statement.

That compared with 48.9 in vember, holding under 50 mark that indicates growth. Anything below 50 shows a contraction.

December was weakest level since August when PMI hit a seven-year low of 47.4 -- which was last seen in July 2012.

"Domestic demand for manufactured goods has been hampered by businesses' caution over investment amid a number of uncertainties -- Brexit, domestic ecomic and political, global ecomic -- which has limited expenditure on capital goods," said EY ecomist Howard Archer.

"Meanwhile, weakened global growth and an uncertain tring environment is weighing down on foreign demand for UK manufactured goods.

"Indeed, survey reported that ongoing concerns relating to ecomic, global tre and political outlooks weighed on manufacturing activity in December." Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a landslide election on December 12 with a vow to finally "Get Brexit Done" on January 31, more than three and a half years after Britain voted to leave EU in a knife-edge referendum.