020 7898 0500There was some good news for British manufacturers yesterday as a report by CBI showed that factory orders are at their highest level for 30 years. The survey found that 28% of manufacturers had order books above normal, with 11% saying they were below normal. The resultant +17 balance is the joint highest with last month and August 1988.
It was a good day for sterling too as it strengthened against the euro and dollar. It will be interesting to see what happens to the pound if a significant breakthrough in trade talks with the EU occurs. One suspects that it will mostly depend on the actual terms of the deal, but if they are favourable, perhaps sterling can break through its recent ranges.
On the whole, it is a quiet week for the UK, although we will find out the public sector net borrowing on Thursday and then comes the GDP growth rate on Friday. A busy end to a quieter week.
