U.K. manufacturers' order book balance increased from the previous month in June, contrary to economists' forecast for a decline, the latest monthly Industrial Trends Survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) showed Thursday.
About 17 percent of respondents reported that total order books were above normal in June, while 28 percent said they were below normal. The resulting rounded balance of -11 percent was higher than -17 percent recorded in May, which was in line with its long-run average. Economists were looking for a balance of -20 percent in June.
As a result of the improvement in order books, manufactures expect output growth to improve over the coming three months. The balance of manufacturers expecting an improvement in output growth increased notably to 7 percent in June from -3 percent in May., data showed.
"Despite facing continued instability within the Eurozone, UK manufacturers have seen a modest re-bound in orders from both their domestic and export markets," CBI Chief Economic Adviser Ian McCafferty said. "As a result, firms are expecting output to pick up over the next quarter, although the pace of growth is still expected to be somewhat lower than earlier in the year."
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