There were meanwhile renewed moderations in production in the chemicals, plastics and rubber, and food products categories and further slowdowns in the electronic & electrical equipment, clothing, and leather products, and wood products sectors.
Commenting on the February survey results, Andrew Harker, Economics Director at IHS Markit said:
"The twin headwinds of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent severe disruption to supply chains caught up with a number of sectors during February, leading to slowdowns in production and new orders across a number of sectors.
"That said, it seems that firms generally expect these impacts to be temporary, with the majority continuing to expand staffing levels in the hope of improving business conditions in the months ahead. We should therefore hopefully see more sectors in growth territory as the year progresses.
"Currency appreciation is clearly helping firms at present, especially given the strength of global price pressures. All but one of the ten monitored sectors saw input cost inflation soften in February, the exception being textiles. Notably, a number of manufacturers mentioned higher yarn prices last month, likely having a particular impact on prices for textiles producers."