The latest survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) revealed
on Tuesday the UK manufacturers' order books unexpectedly declined to a four-month low in February.
According to the report, the CBI's monthly factory order book balance came
in at +20 in February from +24 in the previous
month, which represented the lowest positive reading since October 2021 (+9). Economists
had forecast the reading to come in at +25.
The data also showed that the pace of growth of output volumes fastened in
the three months to February (+26 from +14 in January;),
underpinned by gains in 13 out of 17 sectors.
In addition, the CBI announced that the balance of manufacturers seeing
price increases in the next three months (+77 in February) climbed to the
highest level since December 1976 (+78).
In other survey results, stocks of finished goods were viewed as
inadequate again in February (-14 compared to -17 in January).