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LONDON — The UK’s manufacturing PMI for March, a measure of growth in the sector, was 54.2.

That’s a continued expansion but marks a miss on forecasts from economists, and is lower than the previous reading of 54.5 in February.

The performance of the UK manufacturing sector remained solid at the end of the first quarter,” a release from IHS Markit, which compiles the survey said.

“Although rates of expansion in output and new orders lost further impetus following recent highs, they remained above the respective long-run averages.”

The PMI reading, given between 0-100, measures activity in the sector — anything above 50 signals growth, while anything below means contraction.

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