CBI says small firms' orders rising

Manufacturing production also steadied, but is expected to fall in the next quarter as overall demand remains weak.

Of the 418 firms surveyed for the CBI’s quarterly SME Trends Survey, 27 per cent said the volume of export orders rose in the three months to January, while 25 per cent  said it fell. The resulting balance of +2 per cent is the strongest figure since January 2008.

Export orders are expected to grow more strongly in the next quarter and firms are the most optimistic about export prospects for the year ahead since October 1995.

Domestic orders continued to decline, but at the slowest rate since April 2008 (-10 per cent ). 23 per cent of firms reported a rise in orders during the past three months and 33 per cent a fall, giving a balance of -10 per cent. Firms expect domestic orders to fall again in the next quarter (-7 per cent ). The volume of total new orders fell in the past three months (-5 per cent), but at a slower rate than the previous quarter (-17 per cent ).