- Consumer spending growth picked up.
- Activity continued to improve in the housing market; prices were flat.
- Export growth rose.
- Investment intentions were unchanged.
- Domestic manufacturing sales stabilised.
- Construction output growth remained steady.
- Growth in professional and financial services remained strong; consumer services growth was more subdued.
- The state of the labour market was unchanged, as were capacity pressures.
- There was little sign of any upward pressure on pay.
- Overall, input price inflation fell.
- Consumer price inflation edged higher; discounting in the January ‘sales’ may be less marked than usual.
Published on
23 January 2006
Agents' summary of business conditions - January 2006