British manufacturers' order books barely improved in February although factories' confidence about the outlook was its brightest in six months, a business survey showed today.
The Confederation of British Industry said 20 per cent of firms said their order books were above normal while 30 per cent said they were below, leaving the total order books balance at -10 in February, up slightly from -13 in January.
The CBI said orders had now been below normal for six months in a row. However, confidence improved, with the expectations balance for output over the next three months at +19 compared with +10 in the month before indicating the strongest expectations since August 2004.
"This is a mixed picture. Manufacturers are more optimistic about future production. But that is not based on any clear recent improvement in order books and suggests they are relying on demand improving in the near future," said CBI Head of Economic Analysis Mr Doug Godden.
Financial markets, focused on minutes to the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee February meeting, did not react to the figures, which analysts took as reasonably upbeat.