UK manufacturers appear to have been hit harder by weaker demand than by tighter credit as a result of the financial crisis, data published today suggest.

Although about 40 per cent of British manufacturers found credit harder to obtain in the past three months, only 20 per cent said they found themselves needing to borrow more and only 14 per cent had been constrained by tighter credit, according to the report by Markit on credit conditions for manufacturers in the European Union, China, India and Brazil.