Agents' Summary of Business Conditions - June 2006

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 19 June 2006

Consumer spending growth picked up.
The housing market recovery continued, with demand outpacing supply.
Export sales accelerated again; import growth was less pronounced.
Investment intentions rose: the pace of decline in UK manufacturing investment eased, and services companies expected their investment spending to accelerate.
Alongside strong export sales, domestic manufacturing production picked up.
Construction output grew steadily.
Business services turnover was strong, particularly in the professional and financial sector.
Employment intentions strengthened, with business services recruiting vigorously, but there was still slack in the labour market.
The degree of spare capacity in the manufacturing sector narrowed; capacity pressures in the services sector were unchanged.
There were few signs of pay pressures, or any second-round effects from higher energy prices.
Input price inflation stayed high, reflecting the impact of energy prices.
Output price inflation rose; there was limited pass-through to consumer prices.