Output growth picked up, although this was offset by slower increases in both new orders and employment. On the price front, rates of inflation in input costs and output charges remained elevated despite easing slightly since February. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted 55.1 in March, little-changed from 55.0 in February. The average reading over the opening quarter as a whole (55.1) was the weakest in a year, suggesting that the underlying pace of expansion has been generally slower since the start 2018.