According to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland PMI, private sector economic activity continued to fall in March, as has been the case in each of the past four months.
Article continues below
Weighing on business performance was weak demand, as new orders continued to decline in March.
Subsequently, firms devoted more resources to clearing outstanding workloads and remained cautious towards job creation, with employment ticking up only mildly.
As part of efforts to remain competitive, some companies discounted prices, leading output charge inflation to ease to a 16-month low in March.
The seasonally adjusted headline Royal Bank of Scotland PMI edged marginally higher in March to 49.6, from 49.4 in February.
Nevertheless, the headline figure was still indicative of a deterioration in the level of Scottish business activity.
The manufacturing sector, which had been a strong drag on Scotland's economy in prior months, posted a slight improvement during March, while the prominent service sector dipped back into contraction territory.
Overall demand conditions were unfavourable, according to latest Scottish survey data.
Brexit uncertainty, hesitancy among clients and a general market slowdown were among the factors attributed to the fall in new business.
Manufacturers observed a solid decline in order book volumes, while the level of new work at service providers was broadly stagnant.
Overall, the rate of decrease was slight and little-changed from that seen during February.
With demand pressures lacking, businesses were able to focus extra resources on tackling backlogs of work in March.
Outstanding business declined modestly and for the sixth month running.
Amid falls in business activity and inflows of new work, employment levels across Scotland's private sector remained relatively flat in March.
Although job creation was recorded, it was weaker than the long-run average and only marginal. ■
Modified arctic air combined with a moisture-laden area of low pressure along the Gulf Coast will continue to allow for a broad area of winter weather impacts from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Southeast today into early Saturday morning.