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Agents' Summary of Business Conditions - September 2008
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
16 September 2008
Consumption growth eased reflecting weaker retail sales and consumer services.
The deceleration in housing demand continued.
Investment intentions declined sharply. With regard to credit conditions, the cost of finance rose and availability diminished.
Inventories of consumer durables increased.
Demand for exports weakened slightly but was still relatively strong.
Growth in domestically orientated manufacturing fell and there was further deceleration in construction and services output.
Labour demand softened and recruitment difficulties eased.
Capacity pressures continued to fall.
Growth in total labour costs remained well contained.
Annual input price inflation and output price inflation remained elevated.
Agents' summary of business conditions - September 2008