UK manufacturing activity contracted in April for the first time in three years, a survey has indicated, adding to fears over the economy's strength.
The Markit/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 49.2 from 50.7 in March. A reading below 50 indicates falling output.
It is the first time that activity in the sector has fallen since March 2013.
Firms blamed soft domestic demand, a fall in new business from overseas and uncertainty ahead of the EU referendum.
A slowdown in the oil and gas industry, a major customer for UK companies, is also hitting production.
The index for new orders fell to 50.4 in April, from 51.9 the month before, matching February's three-year low.
Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit, said: "On this evidence manufacturing production is now falling at a quarterly pace of around 1%, and will likely act as a drag on the economy again during the second quarter and putting greater pressure on the service sector to sustain GDP growth.
"The manufacturing labour market is also being impacted, with the data signalling close to 20,000 job losses over the past three months."
Last week, official figures showed UK economic growth slowed to 0.4% in the first quarter of the year from 0.6% in late 2015, propped up by the services sector