Manufacturers remain upbeat

The number of orders for British factories unexpectedly fell this month, but professionals such as badge manufacturers and others within the industry remain upbeat about future production.

According to the latest industrial trends survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), manufacturers' order balances dropped from -17 to -14 in August. The drop came as a surprise to City economists who had predicted an improvement to -13. Despite this, manufacturers have become more upbeat and confident about future orders and have even begun to push up their prices.

As reported by The Financial Times, the survey indicated that 12 per cent more companies expect a rise in output as opposed to a fall, a figure slightly higher than the one from the previous survey in August.

CBI chief economic adviser Ian McCafferty told The Guardian: "The outlook for manufacturing activity seems to have held steady this month. Demand is still considered to be better than it was in the first half of the year, export order books are holding up reasonably well and expectations for production growth in the coming quarter remain solid."

"For the second month running however, inflationary pressures appear to have picked up, as manufacturers anticipate a slightly faster rise in output prices over the next three months."

A balance of 15 per cent more companies revealed that they expected prices to rise in the net three months rather than fall, up from a balance of 11 per cent in August.

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