UK manufacturers anticipate a moderate increase in production for the three months leading to November, following a decline in the three months ending in August, according to the latest Industrial Trends Survey from the Confederation of British Industry, released on Thursday.
For the first time since March, output volumes decreased during the three months to August, with the balance registering at -9 percent, down from -3 percent in July.
However, looking ahead, a net 9 percent of manufacturers expect output to rise in the three months to November.
The order book balance improved to -22 percent in August, up from -32 percent in July. Despite this improvement, the figure remains significantly below the long-term average of -13 percent.
Conversely, the export order book balance dropped to -22 percent from -18 percent the previous month.
Manufacturers' expectations for selling price inflation surged, after reaching a three-and-a-half-year low in July. A net 15 percent now foresee an increase in selling prices, a substantial rise from 2 percent in July.
CBI Lead Economist Ben Jones commented, "The stop-start recovery observed in recent months persisted in August, with output volumes declining for the first time since March and order books remaining below average."
Jones added, "Nevertheless, it's encouraging to see that manufacturers remain optimistic about an uptick in output over the autumn, despite a decline in growth expectations from the two-year high seen last month."
The survey collected responses from 222 manufacturing firms between July 26 and August 13.
