Britain's PMI positive 4 straight months LONDON, April 2 (UPI) -- Manufacturing activity in Britain showed signs of growth in March, but survey results also revealed headwinds, research group Markit said Monday. Markit said Britain's Purchasing Managers Index rose to a 10-month high, but prices hit a seven-month high. The headline index measuring the manufacturing sector rose to 52.1 in March from a revised reading of 51.5 in February. Figures above 50 indicates business growth. While that puts business in Britain on a continued growth trend for four consecutive months, "higher cost inflationary pressures are also intensifying due to high oil and metal prices," the report said. For the first quarter of the year, the average for the headline PMI business barometer was 51.8, the highest since the second quarter of 2011. Britain "has made a brighter than expected start to 2012 with PMI data pointing to output growth of around 0.3 percent in the first quarter," Markit senior economist Rob Dobson said in a statement. However, he said, "Inflation hawks will be watching this trend closely, as margins can only be squeezed so much until producers need to raise prices."