The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) released its industrial order books balance on Thursday. The CBI industrial order books balance rose to -1% in August from -10% in July, beating expectations for -10%.

The increase was driven by a rise in export order book balance. The export order book balance increased to -8% in August from -17% in July.

The balance for output volumes for the next three months was +14% in August.

"While the rebound in manufacturers' total order books is encouraging, many firms are still struggling in overseas markets. On the one hand, the strength of Sterling and cheaper energy are reducing factory input costs, but the strong pound is also hitting export prices and margins hard. With only 4% of the UK's exports going to China, the country's slowdown is not a direct cause of concern for our manufacturers, but it will make life harder for our firms in exposed sectors like metals and commodities," the CBI director of economics Rain Newton-Smith said.