7 February 2017

Economic Update

The January CBI report shows the private sector growth eased. 753 companies completed the survey from across manufacturing, distribution and service sectors. The report showed that growth eased to a balance of +10%, similar to November (+9%) and October (+8%), but below December’s reading at (+17%).

Retailers reported decent growth and output growth remained robust amongst manufacturers, but at a slightly slower pace. Service sector volumes were unchanged.

CBI’s Industrial Trend Report found that overall the volume of domestic orders among UK manufacturers had risen at the fastest pace since July 2014, in the three  months to January. Export orders also grew but below expectations. Amongst SME’s the story was similar, new orders rose at the fastest pace in two years. However, pricing pressures were gaining  traction, with average unit costs rising at the fastest pace since April 2011, and further strong rise in output in the pipeline.

Business optimism, about the overall business situation had fallen for the fourth consecutive quarter, this marks the sharpest fall since December 2008. Overall business volumes were flat, but expected to pick up in the first three months of 2017.