LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - British manufacturing orders fell slightly more than expected in May but firms were more upbeat about the future than at any time since last September, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The Confederation of British Industry's monthly Industrial Trends survey showed the factory orders balance ticked up to -56 this month from -57 in April. Analysts had expected a bigger improvement to -50.
The balance measuring manufacturers' expectations for output over the coming months rose to -17 from -32, its highest level since September 2008.
"After scaling back production very sharply at the beginning of the year, manufacturers can see a glimmer at the end of the tunnel," said Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser to the CBI. "They still expect manufacturing activity to fall, but at a much slower rate over the next few months."
Firms still expect to cut prices but at a slower rate than in April, with the balance at -13 in May versus -20 in April.
(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by David Stamp)