The Scottish economy has slowed after the manufacturing sector recorded its poorest output of the year, new research suggests.
Confidence about future growth has dipped to its weakest level since January as companies continue to deal with difficult trading conditions.
The purchasing managers’ index collated by Royal Bank of Scotland takes responses from more than 500 companies to provide a monthly insight into trends. A score of more than 50 in a category signals an expansion of activity.
The headline index, a composite of the services and manufacturing sectors, showed a reading of 51.1 for July, down from 53.3 in June.
The manufacturing result of 46.2 was the lowest this year and was down from 50.3 in June. Manufacturers cited a drop in demand. Services