CBI SURVEY POINTS TO SURGE IN U.K. OUTPUT

  British manufacturers expect output to
  grow rapidly in the four coming months, a Confederation of
  British Industry (CBI) survey shows.
      The CBI's monthly trends survey for March shows that 43 pct
  of the 1,685 polled U.K. Firms expect to raise output in the
  next four months. Only nine pct expect output to fall while 47
  pct said production would likely remain unchanged.
      The CBI said the positive balance between firms expecting
  production to rise and those forecasting a fall, at 34 pct, was
  the highest such figure recorded since 1977.
      In the CBI's February survey, 37 pct of companies expected
  a rise in output while 54 pct forecast production would remain
  at present levels and eight pct expected production to drop.
      The survey also showed that 23 pct of the polled companies
  consider current order books to be above normal while 58 pct
  view them as normal and only 19 pct regard them as below
  normal.
      This was the highest positive balance since the question
  was first asked more than 10 years ago, the CBI said.
      In February, the figures were 24 pct, 22 pct and 54 pct
  respectively.
      Companies also rated their export possibilities higher. Of
  all polled companies, 23 pct rated their export order books to
  be above normal and 53 pct described them as normal while only
  23 pct believed export orders were below normal levels.
      In February, 25 pct thought their export books were below
  normal and 50 pct believed them to be about normal. At 23 pct,
  the proportion of companies rating their export books above
  normal was unchanged between February and March.
      On prices, the survey showed that 62 pct of companies
  expect average prices at which domestic orders are booked will
  remain unchanged in the coming four months, up from 57 pct in
  February.
      From 38 pct in February, only 31 pct of firms now expect
  prices to rise before July. Six pct forecast prices will fall,
  against four pct a month earlier.
      Commenting on the survey, CBI economic situation committee
  chairman David Wigglesworth said sterling's more competitive
  level against many European currencies had improved exports.
      "But interest rates are still much higher than in our
  competitor countries and British manufacturers will still have
  to work hard to win new business both in overseas markets and
  in the substitution of British-made goods for imports here at
  home," he said.
  

