--CBI: Net -22% UK firms say Jun total orders above normal
--CBI: UK manufacturer price expectations lowest since Sep 2000
--CBI: Net -17% UK firms see avg prices up in next four months
--CBI: Net -29% UK firms say Jun export orders above normal
London, June 21 (BridgeNews) - U.K. manufacturers continue to struggle with below-normal order books and are increasingly pessimistic about their chances of increasing their prices, the Confederation of British Industry's June survey showed. Only 9% of manufacturers said they thought they would be able to put prices up over the next four months, while 26% said they would go down. The net price expectations balance, of -17%, was the lowest in the CBI survey since September 2000, and sharply down on the net -12% in May.
Order books still appeared weak, with a net 22% saying they were below normal, up only slightly on the net 24% saying they were weak in May. Export order books were even worse than domestic ones, with a net 29% saying they were below normal compared with a net 32% in May. The CBI said there was a notable difference between manufacturing sectors.
Consumer goods firms said that on balance order books were broadly normal whereas capital and intermediate goods firms reported order books well below normal. This ties in with developments in the U.K. economy as a whole. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has highlighted the "imbalances" in the economy, with strong consumer demand contrasting with weakness in any sector exposed to the international environment.
Many exporters have performed poorly, while retailers have enjoyed robust sales. The CBI survey showed these imbalances were also present in the manufacturing sector. (See story .1669 for the full set of statistics from the CBI survey).