LONDON, Sept 23 Reuters British manufacturers reported the fastest fall in export demand this month since December 2020, just before Britain left the European Union39;s single market, the Confederation of British Industry said on Monday.

The CBI39;s monthly industrial trends survey showed that the export order balance sank to 44 in September from 22 in August. The overall order book fell to a 10month low of 35 from 22, in contrast to economists39; expectations in a Reuters poll for it to hold broadly steady.

This was a uniformly disappointing set of results for the manufacturing sector, with output falling over the past quarter, order books deteriorating and manufacturers expecting activity to soften further in the remaining months of the year, CBI economist Ben Jones said.

The weak export figures chime with a continued slide in euro zone manufacturing activity in September purchasing managers39; index data published earlier on Monday although the UK manufacturing PMI continued to show expanding activity.

The CBI data showed a sharp fall in factory output for the third quarter, and expectations for a further smaller decline in the final quarter of this year.

Reporting by David Milliken

Source Reuters