Buoyant domestic demand has pushed manufacturing order books in the UK to their highest level in nearly 12 years, a leading business lobby group said today. In its monthly industrial trends survey, the Confederation of British Industry said a net balance of +4 pct of firms said their total books were "above normal" in February despite the surprise quarter point interest rate hike to 5.25 pct in January from the Bank of England. In January, the balance stood at -9 pct. February's balance is the strongest figure since June 1995's +5 pct and beats expectations for a far more modest improvement to -7 pct. The CBI said the higher demand that lifted total orders was seen across all sector, but was most noticeable in consumer goods. Meanwhile, export order books recovered slightly to a balance of +1 pct from -3 pct in January. To meet the orders, the CBI reported that output volumes are expected to increase over the coming three months, with a balance of +28 pct forecasting growth. This was the strongest since May 1995's +31 pct. Meanwhile, a balance of +19 pct expect domestic prices to rise over the next three months, unchanged on January's figure. "This is an upbeat survey continuing the trend of manufacturing recovery that started in early 2006," said Doug Godden, the CBI's head of economic analysis. "In a climate of strengthening demand, businesses have finally been achieving some price rises and expect to continue doing so, helping to rebuild battered profit margins," he added