Improvement in UK exports

UK manufacturers have seen export orders reach a two-year high as the value of the pound plunged in the wake of Brexit.

The latest CBI Industrial Trends Survey said export orders reached their highest level since August 2014.

The report said the slide in sterling appeared to be fuelling stronger overseas demand, with chemical manufacturers accounting for more than half of the rise in orders.

Anna Leach, CBI head of economic analysis, said the pound’s weakness was a “double-edged sword”, helping exports but pushing up costs and prices. She said: “The most significant effects of the vote to leave the EU will flow over the medium- to long-term.”