A spurt in manufacturing production last month saw Scottish private sector output increase at its fastest pace since July 2015, according to a survey.
The latest Bank of Scotland PMI found production expanded in February at its sharpest rate for 37 months.
Manufacturers linked the rise to a combination of improved productivity and stronger underlying demand.
However, service sector firms reported a "subdued" rise in business activity.
The PMI - which measures changes in combined manufacturing and services output - reached a 19-month high of 51.7 in February, up from 51.2 in the previous month.
Any figure above 50 suggests expansion.
Input costs
More than half of the survey's panellists reported a rise in input costs during the month, with input prices in the manufacturing sector increasing at one of the sharpest rates in the survey's history.
Firms attributed that to a combination of exchange rate movements and higher raw material costs.
In response, goods producers raised their selling prices for the eighth month in a row, and at the second-quickest rate since April 2011.
Meanwhile, private sector companies recorded a third successive monthly increase - albeit marginal - in new business.
Some firms linked the growth to greater marketing efforts, while others cited increased activity in the oil and gas sector.
The survey data was collected from a panel of about 500 companies based in Scotland.
- Published13 February 2017
