Results from the British Chamber of Commerce quarterly survey are in. And, to be honest, they’re not great.
Although business lobby BCC held its ground and continued to assert that the UK economy has sidestepped recession – contrary to data compiled by the Office for National Statistics – the survey did show that substantial economic recovery still lingers out of reach.
In a statement released today BCC Director General John Longworth commented: ‘Economic growth is weak and businesses are less confident and less likely to invest than they were at the beginning of the year.’
According to the results of the survey, the British economy has lost its drive in recent months. This loss of momentum has been attributed to businesses capping plans to hire and invest, dropping export and domestic demand and the knock on effect of the fiscal crisis in Europe.
The BCC stated: ‘Fewer firms are looking to invest in training and plant and machinery, and confidence in future turnover and profit has fallen to levels last seen at the end of 2011.’
Both service firms and manufacturers were reported as cutting back on their hiring plans.
However, the BCC maintains that because the 7,593 firms they surveyed recorded output growth (rather than contraction) the British economy has avoided recession. This might sound positive but the chief economist with the BCC was keen to limit optimism on this score. David Kern asserted: ‘While the official assessment that the UK was in technical recession for three consecutive quarters is still too gloomy in our view, it is clear that the economy has been stagnant for too long.’
Despite the pessimistic overtones of the BCC survey, the majority of economists are predicting third quarter growth and this view was supported by the business lobby. The BCC forecast growth of 0.5 per cent in the third quarter.
The Pound to Euro exchange rate is currently trading at 1.2508
The Pound to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.6157
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The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.2917
The Euro to Pound exchange rate is currently trading at 0.7995
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