Agents' Summary of Business Conditions - April 2006

• Consumer spending growth fell back as retail sales decelerated.
• Activity and prices rose in the housing market.
• Domestic manufacturing sales were broadly unchanged; export sales accelerated, and contacts were optimistic about future prospects.
• Investment intentions were unchanged, implying modest increases in future investment spending.
• Growth in business services turnover was strong; in response, employment intentions in the business services sector picked up.
• Overall, there was significantly more slack in the labour market than a year earlier.
• Capacity pressures remained subdued.
• There was little sign of widespread pay pressure.
• Input price inflation rose, reflecting the impact of energy prices.
• Consumer price inflation picked up a little.

Agents' summary of business conditions - April 2006

• Agents' scores (xlsx)
• Definitions for the Agents’ scores
• Response to consultation on changes to Agents' scores