Survey sees rise in activity

Rising demand for goods and services fuelled growth, with south east PMI registering 55.9 in February, up from 55.3 in January – above 50 signifies expansion in business activity.

Increasing raw material costs, worsened by a weak pound, led to a steep rise in average prices charged for goods in February.

Strong new business pipelines, however, meant south east firms were optimistic about growth prospects, recording the third-highest confidence of any region across the UK.

The survey is based on responses from manufacturers and service providers about the volume of goods and services produced in February.