A gauge of British factories' inflation expectations for the coming months fell in October to its lowest level in more than a year, a sign that some price pressures are abating, an industry survey showed on Tuesday.

The Confederation of British Industry said its monthly net balance of manufacturers expecting prices to rise in the next three months fell to +46 from +59 in September, its lowest reading since September 2021.

New business continued to contract, but by less than expected, with the net order book balance falling to -4 from -2 in September. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a reading of -12.

But factories remained gloomy. The CBI's quarterly business sentiment indicator fell to its lowest level since April 2020 at -48 from -21 previously.

"It's a tough time for manufacturers. Price pressures remain acute, availability of materials is still a big issue," said Alpesh Paleja, CBI lead economist.

"It is 49 years since manufacturing firms were this worried about being able to find workers with the skills they need. It's really no surprise that sentiment has deteriorated further."

A manufacturing survey published by S&P Global on Monday pointed to a severe deterioration in new orders in October, in common with other major European economies.

(Writing by Andy Bruce; Editing by William Schomberg)