LONDON, Feb 21 Reuters British manufacturers raised prices by the most in seven months and orders fell in February, figures from the Confederation of British Industry showed on Wednesday.

The Confederation of British Industry39;s monthly order book balance increased to 20 in February from 30 in January, below their longrun average of 13.

Expectations for average selling price inflation rose to 17 this month, up from 9 in January, and their strongest since July 2023.

UK manufacturing conditions remain challenging, with lower output volumes widely reported across the sector this month. But there were also some hopeful signs, CBI deputy chief economist Anna Leach said.

As we head towards the Budget, it is critical that the Chancellor uses this opportunity to put the country on a path to sustainable growth, she added.

The survey39;s measure of output expectations for the next three months dropped to 4 in February from 7 in January, while the gauge of output over the past three months fell to a sixmonth low of 19 from January39;s 10.

Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by David Milliken

Source Reuters