British manufacturers' order books turned down in January and confidence dropped at its fastest rate in nearly two years as dollar weakness hurt demand for exports, a survey showed today.
The Confederation of British Industry's industrial trends survey's total order books balance fell to -13 in January from -4 in December as exports suffered on the pound's strength against the dollar.
The quarterly business situation balance fell to -22, the worst since April 2003, from -10 in October.
"Firms have experienced a disappointing three months. Manufacturing demand has weakened at home and abroad, with exports hampered by the recent weakening of the dollar," said Mr Ian McCafferty, the CBI 's chief economic adviser.
But firms reckoned output could increase in the next few months, with the expectations balance rising to +10 in January from -6 in December. Financial markets shrugged off the data.