UK Manufacturing Shows New Signs of Life in March: CBI

Technicians work on a Rolls-Royce engine prior to it being installed in a car on the production line of the Rolls-Royce Goodwood factory, near Chichester, Britain, on Sept. 1, 2020. Peter Nicholls/Reuters

LONDON—British manufacturing showed clear signs of revival in March as a gauge of new orders rose to its highest in almost two years and companies became increasingly optimistic about future output, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) monthly order book balance rose in March to -5, the highest reading since April 2019 and up from -24 last month. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a much smaller increase to -20.