The
latest survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) showed on Wednesday
the UK manufacturers' order books jumped in November, hitting the highest level
on record.
According
to the report, the CBI's monthly factory order book balance soared to +26 in November
from +9 in the previous month, which was the lowest positive reading in six
months. The November figure represented the highest on record (since April 1977). Economists had forecast the reading to improve to +13. The survey also revealed
that export order books (+3 from -7 in October) climbed to their highest
balance since March 2019.
In
addition, the CBI announced that output volumes in the three months to November
(+17) rose at a similarly strong pace to the last two months. It was expected that output growth would quicken noticeably in the next quarter (+32).
In
other survey results, stock adequacy (-16) deteriorated to
its weakest on record. In addition, manufacturers’ expectations for output
price growth in the coming quarter (+67) were at their strongest since May
1977.