Agents' Summary of Business Conditions - June 2009

• There was further evidence that the rate of contraction had eased for both retail sales and consumerservices.
• There were further reports of a pickup in housing market activity in both the new build and secondary markets, albeit from a low base.
• Investment intentions remained exceptionally subdued.
• In manufacturing, export volumes had contracted further, but there was evidence that the pace of contraction in domestic activity had started to ease.
• The pace of de-stocking was reported to have slowed.
• The rate of decline in business services activity had started to stabilise for some contacts.
• Construction activity remained significantly lower than in the same period a year earlier.
• Credit conditions remained tight overall. Difficulties accessing trade credit insurance remained a significant issue for many contacts (see box).
• Labour demand had continued to shrink although some firms had stopped reducing staff numbers.
• Contacts had continued to report higher materials prices than a year earlier although the rate of inflation had eased.
• Consumer price inflation remained positive.

Agents' summary of business conditions - June 2009

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