The Confederation for British Industry's monthly factory orders balance fell to -5 in April 2019 from +1 in the previous month, well below market expectations of +3. It was the lowest reading since October last year, as the gauge measuring output expectations over the next three months dropped to -2 from +7 in March. Also, both export orders (-5 vs +8) and stocks of finished goods (+9 vs +11) declined. Additionally, expectations for price inflation in the next three months slowed (+1 vs +7). Factory Orders in the United Kingdom averaged -18.17 Net Balance from 1977 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 21 Net Balance in May of 1988 and a record low of -79 Net Balance in October of 1980.
Factory Orders in the United Kingdom is expected to be -1.00 Net Balance by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Factory Orders in the United Kingdom to stand at -5.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United Kingdom CBI Industrial Trends Orders is projected to trend around -2.00 Net Balance in 2020, according to our econometric models.