"Overseas demand has improved in this month's survey, but this has not been enough to lift overall demand and support the modest expectation for growth in production levels found in the previous survey"
- Anna Leach, the CBI's head of economic analysis
The number of orders at British factories improved slightly this month, pushed by the stronger demand for exports, however, still remains in the negative territory. According to the Confederation of British Industry, its index of factory orders, which describes the balance of the number of manufacturers, who reported a decrease in order books and those who record an increase, inched up to -21 this month, up from -23 in the preceding month. Analysts had predicted the U.K. factory orders to improve to -19.
"Overseas demand has improved in this month's survey, but this has not been enough to lift overall demand and support the modest expectation for growth in production levels found in the previous survey," said Anna Leach, the CBI's head of economic analysis.
"Business confidence continues to be undermined by uncertainty over events in Europe and the fast-approaching U.S. fiscal cliff. However, we expect UK growth to pick up somewhat in 2013 as this uncertainty gradually subsides and global growth increases."
The FTSE 100 Index rose 0.68 per cent to 5,791.03. The broader FTSE All-Share Index edged higher 0.67 per cent to 3,025.27.
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