LONDON, March 22 Reuters A gauge of British manufacturers39; inflation expectations fell to its lowest in two years after output slid again in the three months to March, the Confederation of British Industry39;s CBIsaid on Wednesday.

The CBI39;s gauge of expected selling prices fell to 25 in March, the lowest since March 2021 and down from 40 in February but still strong in historical terms.

The net balance for manufacturing order books fell to 20 from 16, the weakest reading since February 2021. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a reading of 15.

Export orders fell to 23 from 27.

Falling output and softer order books highlight the challenging demand environment for UK manufacturing, Anna Leach, deputy chief economist at the CBI, said.

Together with some easing of input costs, this seems to be feeding through to a marked weakening in selling price expectations for the next quarter.

The survey of 264 manufacturers took place between Feb. 23 and March 14.

Reporting by Suban Abdulla Editing by William Schomberg Editing by William Schomberg

Source Reuters