Hopes that Britain is pulling out of recession were aided today when it emerged that manufacturing is growing at the fastest pace for 15 years.

The CIPS/Markit manufacturing managers' index jumped last month thanks to a splurge of new orders by large companies, suggesting the economy is poised for notable growth.

Figures last week showed Britain is just barely out of recession, with the economy growing by a paltry 0.1 per cent in the last quarter of 2009.

The CIPS index, a measure of productivity, leapt to 56.7 in January from 54.6 in December. It is at its highest since October 1994, well above what analysts were predicting. Nick Kounis at Fortis said: “The report suggests that a strong export-driven recovery in the manufacturing sector is well under way.”

This could encourage the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, which meets this week, to put its controversial quantitative easing programme on hold.

Philip Shaw at Investec said: “We're somewhat stunned by the strength of the manufacturing numbers. At face value, it would appear to imply the sector is at the start of a new purple patch, which we're a little bit sceptical about. It's possible that manufacturing is benefiting from a temporary boost as heavy inventory shedding comes to an end but the figures are nonetheless a big upside surprise.”