Growth slowed in some industries between April and June, warns the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
Growth slowed in some industries between April and June, warns the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)
The growth rate in some industries has slowed between April and June, according to a new survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
The survey of 7,000 businesses found that the growth rate in exports and investments had slowed in the second quarter, although the BCC said it was “important to put the results into perspective”.
“For both manufacturing and services, all the key Q2 balances are stronger than their long-term averages,” the report says.
Worryingly for the government, however, the manufacturing balance for export sales dropped from 40 per cent in Q1 to +30 per cent in Q2 – the worst level since Q2 2013, according to the report.
The BCC also warned that repairing Britain’s broken business finance system was “a top priority”, and cautioned against a sudden rise in interest rates, which it said could mean “more limited growth ambitions” among companies.
As MPs took evidence on the Bank’s May 2014 inflation report, Labour MP Pat McFadden said that businesses and consumers had been “left not really knowing where they stand” due to the Bank’s failure to be clear over when it will raise interest rates, and that the bank was sending “a lot of different signals”.
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