Investing.com - U.K. industrial order expectations improved in July, confounding expectations for a modest decline, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Confederation of British Industry said its index of industrial order expectations improved by 5.0 points to a reading of minus 6.0 in July from June’s reading of minus 11.0.
Analysts had expected the index to decline by 1.0 point to minus 12.0 in July.
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 Head of Economic Analysis Anna Leach said, “Despite a further escalation in the euro zone crisis, this survey shows some resilience in the U.K. manufacturing sector, with sentiment about the general economic situation broadly stable.”
“Both demand and production grew steadily in the three months to July, and this is expected to continue over the next three months,” she added.
Following the release of that data, the pound was fractionally lower against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD easing down 0.06% to trade at 1.5498.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained broadly higher. London’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2%, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.7%, while Germany's DAX added 0.5%.
In a report, the Confederation of British Industry said its index of industrial order expectations improved by 5.0 points to a reading of minus 6.0 in July from June’s reading of minus 11.0.
Analysts had expected the index to decline by 1.0 point to minus 12.0 in July.
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 Head of Economic Analysis Anna Leach said, “Despite a further escalation in the euro zone crisis, this survey shows some resilience in the U.K. manufacturing sector, with sentiment about the general economic situation broadly stable.”
“Both demand and production grew steadily in the three months to July, and this is expected to continue over the next three months,” she added.
Following the release of that data, the pound was fractionally lower against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD easing down 0.06% to trade at 1.5498.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained broadly higher. London’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2%, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.85%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.7%, while Germany's DAX added 0.5%.