LONDON (Reuters) - British manufacturers reported a surge in orders this month after a largely sluggish start to 2018, and price pressures eased to their weakest in nearly a year, figures from the Confederation of British Industry showed on Wednesday.
The CBI's factory order book balance jumped to +13 this month from -3 in May, its highest since January and well above all forecasts in a Reuters poll.
The survey's price balance fell to +13 from +19, its lowest since July 2017, while the output expectations gauge softened slightly to a three-month low of +18.
"The recovery in orders and a return to bumper growth in production suggests the lull in manufacturing activity may be over," CBI economist Anna Leach said.
But she added that risks to growth from Brexit and escalating global trade tensions remained.
(Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce)
