Britain's manufacturers haven't been this depressed since the financial crisis
Britain's manufacturing sector has fallen into a deep funk following the Brexit vote, figures out on Monday show.
The latest Confederation of British Industry (CBI)'s Industrial Trends Survey gave a confidence reading of -47%, the lowest figure since January 2009 (-64%) when Britain was at the height of the financial crisis. The decline in confidence was also the fastest fall since the same month in 2009.
CBI
But despite the pessimism, the CBI predicts that export orders will rise at an above-average pace over the next quarter. Many pro-Brexit campaigners argued that the weakened pound would boost international orders.
And despite the gloom about the outlook for UK manufacturing, the survey found that output rose by 16% in the last 3 months, its strongest growth for 2 years.
Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Chief Economist, says in an emailed statement: "Manufacturers picked up the pace over the second quarter, with output growing solidly. We're also seeing encouraging signs of a boost to export competitiveness from a weaker sterling.
"But it's clear that a cloud of uncertainty is hovering over industry, post-Brexit. We see this in weak expectations for new orders, a sharp fall in optimism and a scaling back of investment plans."
- Having an regional accent can be bad for your interviews, especially an Indian one: study
- Dirty laundry? Major clothing companies like Zara and H&M under scrutiny for allegedly fuelling deforestation in Brazil
- 5 Best places to visit near Darjeeling
- Climate change could become main driver of biodiversity decline by mid-century: Study
- RBI initiates transition plan: Small finance banks to ascend to universal banking status
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market