UK manufacturers anticipate a moderate increase in output volumes over the three months leading up to February, according to survey results released Thursday by the Confederation of British Industry. The recent survey covering the three months until November indicated that output volumes had declined at a more rapid rate than the preceding quarter, with the balance dropping to -12 percent from -6 percent in the previous period.
Nevertheless, a net 9 percent of manufacturers predict an upswing in output during the forthcoming three months to February. Additionally, order book balance saw improvement, rising to -19 percent from -27 percent in the prior period, though it remains below the long-term average of -13 percent.
On the pricing front, survey results highlighted that expectations for average selling price inflation have climbed to 11 percent from zero in October.
"Manufacturers have seen output fall short of expectations recently, attributing this to various factors such as uncertainty surrounding the UK Budget, the US elections, and recent political instability in Europe, which have led customers to delay or cancel orders," explained Ben Jones, CBI's Lead Economist.
