The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) released its industrial order books balance on Monday. The CBI industrial order books balance slid to -17 in February from-15 in January.

Export orders improved slightly in February.

"The challenging outlook for the manufacturing sector has stabilised a little, with sterling having depreciated, but Britain's manufacturers are still facing a difficult global situation," the CBI director of economics Rain Newton-Smith said.

"Despite the turbulence in emerging markets, economies such as China still represent a huge opportunity for British industry," he added.