MNI BRIEF: UK Manufacturing Activity Muted In Jan: CBI

The CBI industrial trends survey for January paints another grim picture for the UK manufacturing sector with total order books deteriorating -38, down from -25 in December. Expected output volumes for the next three months fell sharply to -24 after improving to -6 in the previous month. Against that, export order books ticked up to -33 in January, the highest level since March.

The survey further noted an increase in stockpiling activity ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period. However, manufactures also expect an increase in costs in January. Manufacturers are more pessimistic regarding the outlook and expect supply constraints to weigh on output going forward. Moreover, business sentiment dropped in the quarter to January amid renewed Covid restrictions in the UK and in Europe.