LONDON (Reuters) -British manufacturers suffered a sharp contraction in orders and output this month, the Confederation of British Industry said, chiming with another closely-watched business survey published earlier on Thursday.
The CBI’s monthly balance for manufacturing new orders fell in May to -30 from -26 in April, the weakest reading since January.
The report followed on the heels of S&P Global’s survey of the manufacturing sector, which showed a severe downturn marked by the fastest pace of job cutting since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.
The CBI’s gauge of output for the past three months fell in May to match December’s reading, which had been the lowest since August 2020.
“Sentiment among UK manufacturers seems poor, reflecting a combination of rising domestic business costs and US tariff uncertainty,” said Ben Jones, lead economist at the CBI.
Businesses are facing pressure from high energy costs, rising labour costs and the threat of extra regulation with the government’s Employment Rights Bill coming down the track, Jones added.
The survey’s gauge of exports picked up in May after Britain signed an accord with the United States to lessen President Donald Trump’s tariffs and remove some trade barriers, although it remained in deeply negative territory.
Reports of rising prices among manufacturers increased in May to their highest level in net terms since January, the CBI said.
(Reporting Andy Bruce; editing by Suban Abdulla)
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