- Katja Hall, CBI Deputy Director-General
UK industrial order expectations improved less than expected in April, sapping optimism over the British economic outlook. According to the Confederation of British Industry, the index of industrial order expectations rose by 1.0 point to a reading of 1.0 this month from March's level of 0.0. Analysts, however, had expected the index to soar by 4.0 point to 4.0 in April. While the pace of growth in UK factory orders slowed in the three months to April, companies remained more upbeat about the outlook. The quarterly industrial trends survey by the industry group CBI showed the balance of total new orders slowed to +13 in April from +20 in January, due to weak exports which might reflect the recent strengthening of Pound. For the upcoming three months, the survey showed the balance for expectations of new orders rose to +22 from +11 in January, reaching the highest level since July 2014. Investment intentions dropped sharply from strong levels across all categories, the CBI added.
Official data later today is expected to show British economic growth slowed in the first three months of this year. The median market forecast stands at 0.5%, while the last quarter of 2014 the UK economy expanded at the 0.6% growth rate, a revision from 0.5%.
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