LONDON (Reuters) – British industrial output grew at the slowest pace in more than a year during the three months to July, although there was a slight easing in inflation pressures and a pick-up in investment, a quarterly survey showed on Monday.
The Confederation of British Industry said the output balance in its Industrial Trends Survey dropped to +6 for July from +19 in April, its lowest since the three months to April 2021 but just above its long-run average of +2.
“The manufacturing sector has been an economic bright spot in recent months, but output and orders have softened amid ongoing cost pressures, supply challenges and a generalised weakening in economic conditions both in the UK and globally,” CBI deputy chief economist Anna Leach said.
The Bank of England has warned that the economy is likely to slow to a crawl this year and next as consumers face the highest inflation in 40 years and many businesses face a squeeze on their profit margins.
The CBI’s figures showed a big fall in the balance for manufacturers’ average expected prices for the next three months to +48 from +71, though this is still far above its average of +6.
(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by William Schomberg)
