Investing.com - U.K. industrial order expectations improved more-than-expected in January, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Confederation of British Industry said its index of industrial order expectations improved by 7.0 points to minus 16.0 in January from a reading of minus 23.0 in December.
Analysts had expected the index to improve by 4.0 points to minus 19.0 in January.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates increasing order volume is expected, below indicates expectations are for lower volume.
Commenting on the report, CBI Director General John Cridland said, “The crisis in the euro zone is still hanging over the UK, threatening future growth. Nevertheless, within this survey there are some tentative signs that things could improve somewhat in the coming quarter.”
“Key factors behind this include the fact that US recovery has been better than expected, and the impact of the credit rating downgrade in the euro area has been muted,” he added.
Following the release of that data, the pound held on to losses against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD shedding 0.33% to trade at 1.5575.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly lower. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.7%, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.1%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.9%, while Germany's DAX retreated 0.7%.
In a report, the Confederation of British Industry said its index of industrial order expectations improved by 7.0 points to minus 16.0 in January from a reading of minus 23.0 in December.
Analysts had expected the index to improve by 4.0 points to minus 19.0 in January.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates increasing order volume is expected, below indicates expectations are for lower volume.
Commenting on the report, CBI Director General John Cridland said, “The crisis in the euro zone is still hanging over the UK, threatening future growth. Nevertheless, within this survey there are some tentative signs that things could improve somewhat in the coming quarter.”
“Key factors behind this include the fact that US recovery has been better than expected, and the impact of the credit rating downgrade in the euro area has been muted,” he added.
Following the release of that data, the pound held on to losses against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD shedding 0.33% to trade at 1.5575.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly lower. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.7%, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.1%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.9%, while Germany's DAX retreated 0.7%.