The manufacturing sector continued to recover in March, according to the latest purchasing managers’ index from the centre for economics and business research (CEBR).

The index rose from 57.2 in March, from 56.5 in February,  the highest reading since Autumn 1994, when the economy was recovering from the previous recession

The new orders index fell slightly to 59.9, after reaching 60 in February.

The CEBR said: “The latest data underlines that the manufacturing sector recovery is gathering speed and that the industry has the potential to be anengine of growth for UK plc.

“However, as a note of caution, the latest improvements may be partly fuelled by the turn in the inventory cycle, given that the index surveys is based on the views of those who are directly responsible for stock levels. In that sense the coming months will show how sustainable the recovery in this sector will be.”