British Manufacturers Struggle As New Orders Decline

Britain's manufacturers reported a third straight quarterly fall in new orders during the three months to July, though the pace of decline eased slightly, according to a key business survey published July 26. The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) quarterly survey of industry showed that 31% of the firms polled said that new orders fell over the past three months, while 24% reported an increase. That resulted in a net balance of minus seven percent in the quarter compared with minus 18% in the three months to April.

The CBI said that the main weakness was in domestic orders, which was partly offset by a pick-up in export orders.

Last week, official data showed that the manufacturing sector had fallen into recession, while the economy showed its weakest year-on-year performance for 12 years during the second quarter.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005