Agents' Summary of Business Conditions - September 2005

We regularly publish a summary of reports compiled by our twelve regional Agents following discussions with at least 700 businesses across the UK every reporting period.

Published on 20 September 2005

Growth of consumer demand has remained weak in the past month. The value of retail spending remained relatively flat, while growth in spending on consumer services eased.
The housing market was generally subdued, and some house builders reported a downturn in activity. But in some regions there were tentative signs of a pickup in activity.
Export prospects have improved, with demand growing strongly from regions such as the Middle East due to the higher oil price. Growth in imports of consumer goods could remain subdued in the months ahead.
Investment intentions have eased a little further as firms remained cautious about the outlook for the economy.
Manufacturing output has been steady, underpinned by stronger overseas orders.
The pace of construction output growth has eased.
Service sector output growth has been fairly steady. Growth in professional and financial services remained robust, though demand growth has weakened in some other sectors.
Employment intentions and recruitment difficulties have both fallen over the past month.
Capacity utilisation eased a little, though it was perhaps still slightly above its normal level for the economy as a whole.
Pay pressures have remained muted.
Input price inflation has started to pick up again, mainly due to rising oil and energy costs.
Manufacturing output price inflation eased, but business services price inflation increased.
Consumer price inflation edged up.