Investing.com - U.K. industrial order expectations deteriorated more than expected in July, dampening optimism over the country’s economic outlook, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Confederation of British Industry said its index of industrial order expectations fell by 9.0 points to a reading of 2.0 this month from June’s reading of 11.0.
Analysts had expected the index to decline by 3.0 points to 8.0 in July.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates increasing order volume is expected, below indicates expectations are for lower volume.
Katja Hall, CBI Director-General, said, “Industry is performing well as orders and hiring are on the up, and investment intentions for the year ahead are looking healthy across the board.”
“It is not all plain sailing however, and there are still risks to the recovery. These include increasing international political instability, and the recent rise in sterling, which could be weighing on exports,” she added.
Following the release of that data, the pound held on to modest losses against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD easing down 0.05% to trade at 1.7067.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained higher. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.8%, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rallied 1%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.9%, while Germany's DAX tacked on 0.85%.