WELSH manufacturers are more pessimistic about the general business situation than they were four months ago, according to the latest CBI Welsh Industrial Trends survey.
The pessimism follows a fall in demand for contracting work and prices.
Confidence in the business outlook has fallen by 15% since June.
The survey also predicts sharp job cuts in the sector over the coming months, following four successive quarters of job cuts in the year leading up to the latest survey.
The report's conclusion comes after manufacturers had high hopes of a pickup in activity across the spring and summer. But the expected pick-up failed to come to fruition, with activity in the sector slowing in the autumn.
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