Optimistic British Factories in 2018 due to EU demand

The UK manufacturing cooled down slightly compared with the highs of 2017, as presented in an industry survey on Monday which highlighted the significance of demand from the European consumers. While Britain’s factory outputs continued to be on its historic highs at the beginning of 2018 and showed strong hopes on their outlook, according to the quarterly report of EEF manufacturers' association and accountancy group BDO.

The official data states that the manufacturing was regarded to be the most improved sector of the British economy during the final quarter of 2017, and this is because of the strong international demand. The EEF survey along with some reports shows signs of a slight decline in momentum from the previous year, as factories assessed the course to conduct a significant contribution towards the country’s economic growth for the current year.

The outlook depends on the result of Britain’s negotiations about the new trading contract with the European Union after the scheduled exit from the bloc in March 2019. Moreover, the EEF survey presented that two-thirds of UK manufacturers have an optimistic demand from EU clients which exceeded the ratio of the Asian and North American markets.

The pressure for factory price keeps on moving sharply which is a concern of Bank of England officials. Moreover, consumer price inflation reached its peaks in the past five years since November, hitting 3.1 percent. In February, the central bank stated for a low chance of interest rate hike mainly because of the strong global growth.

On Monday, another report issued by Hadrian's Wall Capital showing a 25 basis-point rate increase to 0.75 percent, which could distress smaller firms since they do not have enough access to fixed-rate credit.