Confidence among Britain's manufacturers fell in October for the first time since January, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said in its latest quarterly industrial trends survey The CBI's business optimism index fell to minus 19 in October from 4 in July, as the decline in orders for manufactured goods continued
The survey revealed that 18pc of firms saw a rise in total orders in the four months to October, while 34pc recorded a fall. The balance of minus 16 compared with minus 11 in July. It also said that firms plan to cut investment in buildings, plant and machinery at a "significant rate" over the next twelve months, and that numbers employed fell for the twentieth consecutive survey
The employers' organisation chose not to call for an immediate cut in interest rates in face of the continued uncertainty about the international economy and the recent tick upwards in underlying retail price inflation. But it signalled that a half-point reduction might become necessary should economic conditions worsen further. Three of the Bank of England's policymakers voted in favour of a rate cut this month, the first vote for a rate reduction since February //www.fxcentre.com