By Sebastian Barnes of the Bank's Structural Economic Analysis Division and Colin Ellis of the Bank's Inflation Report and Bulletin Division.
Business surveys provide more timely news about investment than official data. The surveys also include forward-looking information. This article examines some survey-based indicators of business investment. Using simple techniques, several indicators are found to contain information about the path of investment. Moreover, as official business investment data are often revised, survey data can also usefully supplement the official data when interpreting recent movements in investment.
Indicators of short-term movements in business investment