2017.07.1302:20:00UTC+00UK Economy Expands At Subdued Rate In Q2: BCC

The UK economy grew at a subdued rate in the second quarter of 2017, the British Chambers of Commerce said in its Quarterly Economic Survey, published on Thursday.

In the manufacturing sector, the balance of firms reporting increasing domestic sales held steady at +20, while domestic orders fell slightly to +15 from +16. At the same time, the balance reporting export sales rose marginally to +27 from +26.

In services, the balance of firms reporting increasing domestic sales fell to +19 from +22 and domestic orders dropped to +15 from +19. The balance reporting increasing export sales came in at +13 versus +10 in the prior period.

The balance of manufacturers confident that turnover would improve over the next 12 months increased to +46 from +44, and the balance for services to +40 from +39.

The percentage of businesses in both manufacturing and services sectors attempting to recruit fell somewhat, but remain relatively high.

"The subdued growth picture also underlines the importance of getting as much clarity on the Brexit transition as possible, as quickly as possible over the coming months," Adam Marshall, Director General of the BCC, said.

The percentage balance of manufacturing firms expecting the price of their goods to increase over the next three months has fallen slightly from the near-historic-highs reported in the previous quarter.

The drop in the balance of firms expecting prices to rise indicates that price pressures at the factory gate have moderated a little, Suren Thiru, head of economics at the BCC, said.