A survey has shown that British manufacturing activity surged to a three-year high in August, driven by the strongest production growth since 1994.
The CIPS/NTC said its purchasing managers' index rose to 56.3 last month from an upwardly revised 55.9 in July, the highest level since July 2004 and well above the 50 mark which signals expansion.
CIPS/NTC said the sector was now enjoying its longest period of sustained growth in 12 years.
Manufacturing output growth soared to 60.4 from 58 in July - the fastest expansion in nearly 13 years.
The figures suggest the UK manufacturing sector's recovery is gathering pace and are likely to boost speculation that it could weather one more interest rate rise this year, after five hikes to 5.75% since August last year.
While the domestic market contributed most to growth in August, new export orders improved markedly with a reading of 55.8 - the strongest rate of expansion since January 2004.
But the Bank of England may breathe a sigh of relief to see price pressures cooling at both the factory gate and further up the industrial pipeline.
Input costs, although still strong, grew at their weakest rate since April, with the input prices index easing to 64.1 from a downwardly revised 66.5. The output price reading cooled to 56.1 from July's record high of 57.5. August's reading is the weakest since March.
Separate figures from NTC showed that manufacturing activity euro zone lost momentum in August as a strong euro, firm oil prices and rising interest rates took their toll on the sector.
The purchasing managers' index eased to 54.3 points from 54.9 in July. Although the index showed manufacturing activity growing at the slowest pace since January 2006, it still remained in expansion as indicated by a reading over 50 points.
