British factory output fell in December at the fastest rate since 2012 as a tepid global economy hurt demand and businesses further reduced stocks of goods they had built up in case of a no-deal Brexit, a survey showed on Thursday. The output gauge in the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 45.6 from 49.1 in November, its lowest since July 2012. Readings below 50 denote contraction. The broader headline PMI, which combines gauges of output, employment and orders, fell to 47.5 from 48.9 – revised up only slightly from a preliminary reading of 47.4 and marking a four-month low. “With demand weak and confidence remaining subdued, input purchasing was pared back sharply and jobs were cut for the ninth successive […]