UK manufacturers’ order book balance continues to improve in February

The latest survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) revealed on Thursday the UK manufacturers' order books improved further in February.

According to the report, the CBI's monthly factory order book balance increased to -18 in February from -22 in the previous month. Economists had forecast the reading to come in at -19. That was the highest reading since August 2019 but below the survey's long-run average of -13.

The CBI reported that output expectations rose from +4 in January to +8 in February, the highest level since February 2019, while domestic price outlook worsened from +2 to -2 and assessment of the adequacy of the present stocks of finished goods eased from +26 to +15.

"It is encouraging to see manufacturers reporting some early signs of a turnaround in activity, but it's probably still too early to say whether we've seen the end of the slowdown in the sector," noted Alpesh Paleja, CBI lead economist.

"Notwithstanding improving optimism, the sector is still grappling with longer-term uncertainty over the UK's future relationship with the EU," he added.

Meanwhile, Tom Crotty, Group Director of INEOS and Chair of the CBI Manufacturing Council, said: "The beginning of 2020 seems to have seen an improvement in UK manufacturing activity following a difficult 2019. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that this progress is fragile and the new-look Cabinet must therefore waste no time in working with manufacturers to tackle long-standing challenges and seize opportunities for growth."