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Agents' Summary of Business Conditions

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What is the Agents' Summary?
This publication is a summary of monthly reports compiled by the Bank of England's Agents, following discussions with around 700 businesses. It provides information on the state of business conditions, from firms across all sectors of the economy. The report does not represent the Bank's own views, nor does it represent the views of any particular firm or region.

Agents' Scores
In addition to the monthly reports, each month the Bank’s twelve Agents make quantitative assessments of economic conditions as seen from their respective countries and regions. These scores provide numerical measures of the intelligence that the Agents gather from month to month, and cover some areas of the economy where there are no official statistics. The scores are also timely and some have a high correlation with subsequently published ONS data. As such, they can be useful indicators of the current economic conjuncture. The scores are discussed in more detail in a Quarterly Bulletin article, available in Key Resources below.

How is it used?
The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee uses the intelligence provided by the Agents, in conjunction with information from other sources, to assist its understanding and assessment of current economic conditions.

Where are the Agencies?
The Bank of England has Agencies for Central Southern England, the East Midlands, Greater London, the North East, the North West, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the South East & East Anglia, the South West, Wales, the West Midlands and Yorkshire & the Humber. The Bank's assessment of current monetary and economic conditions, and the outlook for inflation, are contained in the Inflation Report.

2010  
January
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2009  
November
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December
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September
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October
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July
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August
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May
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June
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March
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April
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January
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February
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2008  
November
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December
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September
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October
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July
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August
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May
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June
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March
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April
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January
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February
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2007  
November
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December
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September
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October
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July
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August
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May
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June
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March
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April
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January
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February
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2006  
November
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December
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September
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October
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July
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August
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May
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June
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March
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April
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January
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February
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2005  
November
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December
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September
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October
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July
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August
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May
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June
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March
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April
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January
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February
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Key Resources

Introducing the Agents' Scores
By Colin Ellis and Tim Pike, Quarterly Bulletin, Winter 2005
Download PDF

Bank of England Agents' Scores
Download Excel Spreadsheet
Definitions for the Agents' Scores
Download PDF

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Related Links
  • Regional Agencies
    Details and contact information for the Bank's regional agencies
  • Inflation Report
    Sets out the detailed economic analysis and inflation projections on which the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee bases its interest rate decisions, and presents an assessment of the prospects for UK inflation over the following two years.
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