LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK manufacturers' order books improved in February and output fell slightly but at a more moderate rate than in the first lockdown, the Industrial Trends Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed Friday.
The order book balance improved to -24 percent in February from -38 percent in January. However, the export order books balance fell to -39 percent from -33 percent in the previous month.
Output volumes in the three months to February fell at a moderate pace of -8 percent versus -2 percent in January.
'Manufacturing activity remains patchy, but so far appears to have taken a smaller hit than in previous lockdowns,' Alpesh Paleja, CBI lead economist, said.
However, a stubbornly mixed picture persists among the different manufacturing sub-sectors, pointing to the asymmetric impact of restrictions, Paleja added.
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