Output continued to expand, and at a quicker pace than in July. However, new orders rose at the slowest rate since May 2017, while export sales declined for the fifth month in a row. At the same time, employment remained on a downward trend which, in turn, contributed to an increase in outstanding workloads. Inflationary pressures meanwhile picked up, with firms noting steeper increases in both input costs and output charges. Confidence towards future output remained stuck near June's six-month low, with a number of panellists citing concerns over the impact of the ongoing China-US trade war and relatively subdued market conditions.

The headline seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted above the neutral 50.0 level at 50.6 in August. However, this was down from 50.8 in July and signalled the weakest improvement in the health of the sector since June 2017.