- Annual growth in the value of consumer spending had remained moderate. There were signs of increasing consumer confidence, though disposable incomes had remained tight.
- Activity in the housing market had picked up further in recent months.
- Investment intentions had continued to point to only modest growth in capital spending.
- Growth in manufacturing output had been unchanged for the domestic market, though it had increased a little for exports.
- Sentiment in business services had improved further, alongside continued growth in turnover.
- Construction output had strengthened, as house building had increased over recent months.
- Corporate credit availability had continued to improve gradually.
- Employment intentions pointed to a slight increase in staffing over the coming six months.
- Capacity utilisation had remained slightly below normal both in manufacturing and services, though the margin of spare capacity in services had narrowed a little.
- The annual rate of growth in labour costs per employee had been little changed.
- Annual growth in materials costs had remained subdued and moderate inflation in imported finished goods prices had continued.
- Inflation in manufacturers’ output prices had edged lower and had remained very subdued for business services prices.
- The rate of consumer price inflation had been unchanged.
Published on
14 August 2013
Agents' summary of business conditions - August 2013