U.K. Industrial Orders Improve In May: CBI

(RTTNews) - British industrial orders improved slightly in May, the Industrial Trends Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed Friday.

The order balance rose to -8 percent in May from -11 percent in April. It was forecast to fall to -13 percent.

About 15 percent of businesses reported an increase in export orders and 29 percent a decrease, resulting in a balance of -14 percent.

Output is expected to increase over the next three months, with 32 percent companies suggesting a rise and 12 percent expecting a decrease, leaving a balance of +20 percent.

"Conditions in the manufacturing sector seem to be a little better overall, with improving order books compared with a couple of months ago," Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Director of Economics, said.

"But domestic and global uncertainty remains high, alongside lacklustre export demand," Newton-Smith added.

Should June's referendum result in a vote to leave the EU, it seems highly likely that the UK economy would suffer markedly for some time with negative repercussions for manufacturers, IHS Global Insight Economist Howard Archer, said.