The latest survey from financial-services group Markit has found that the UK manufacturing picked up slightly in January, compared with the previous month.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 53.0 from 52.7 in December (a figure above 50 indicates growth). This improvement is mainly due to a modest recovery in export orders and a drop in raw material costs, which fell faster than they had done since May 2009.

The survey also found that staffing levels rose for the 21st consecutive month in January, with the sector adding around 5,000 extra jobs.

Lee Hopley, chief economist at the EEF (pictured), said: “The domestic market remains a key driver of growth but, bucking recent trends, there was also an increase in demand from overseas. However, we will need to see this sustained in the coming months before we can call it a turn-round in the sector’s export performance.”

Paul Hollingsworth, UK economist at the Capital Economics ‘think tank’, said: “It seems likely that lower oil prices should continue to allow manufacturers to lower prices and so support demand. The latest survey evidence offers some hope that the manufacturing sector may have passed the worst.”

Meanwhile the Markit euro-zone manufacturing PMI recorded a figure of 51.0 in January, compared with 50.6 the previous month — and Ireland’s manufacturers enjoyed their strongest growth for eight months.

Activity in Spain and the Netherlands also increased, although Italy and France continued to see a decline — albeit at a slower rate. In Germany, manufacturing growth also slowed slightly, while Greece suffered the biggest drop in activity for 15 months.