- Consumer spending growth picked up, although the pattern of sales was affected by the World Cup.
- The housing market recovery continued, but contacts were cautious about the near-term outlook.
- Export sales accelerated again; import growth also rose.
- Manufacturing investment intentions strengthened: contacts now expected broadly unchanged investment spending over the next twelve months.
- Manufacturing production for domestic markets rose, but less quickly than exports.
- Construction output growth was steady.
- Professional and financial services activity continued to grow strongly.
- Employment intentions picked up, but recruitment difficulties remained low.
- Capacity utilisation increased a little in both the manufacturing and service sectors.
- There was no evidence of widespread pay pressure.
- Input price inflation remained high, reflecting energy prices.
- Manufacturing output price inflation also stayed high; there was some further pass-through of energy costs to consumer prices.
Published on
18 July 2006
Agents' summary of business conditions - July 2006