British manufacturing output fell over the three months to September and was expected to be stagnant in the remainder of 2023, according to an industry survey published on Friday that added to signs of weakness in the economy.
The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) net balance of output for the third quarter stood at -10, less weak than -19 in the three months to August which was the lowest reading since September 2020 but still far below the series average of +3.
The net balance shows the difference between the share of factories reporting rising output against those seeing a fall.
“Output in the manufacturing sector weakened over the past quarter and is expected to flatline at best through the rest of this year,” Anna Leach, the CBI’s deputy chief economist, said.
The CBI’s measure of order books edged down to -18 from -15 in the three months to August, matching the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
The Bank of England ended its run of interest rate increases on Thursday, citing signs of a slowdown in the economy.
After eight straight months when manufacturers’ inflation expectations fell, selling price expectations picked up for the three months to December but stood only a little higher than in last month’s survey when they were the weakest since early 2021.
The CBI survey was conducted between Aug. 24 and Sept. 12 and with 292 manufacturing firms responding.
(Reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar)
