2014.07.0804:45:11UTC+00UK business confidence lowered but still strong

Results of a survey sent out to various businesses in the United Kingdom indicated the presence of expectations that the region’s recovery will take on a slower pace in the coming months.

The more tempered responses from the 7,000 companies surveyed by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) showed that the percentage of businesses who expected more investments as well as the number of those who reported higher export quantities decreased compared to the survey made during the year’s first quarter. BCC chief economist David Kern called the drop in confidence a reminder that the job of securing the UK’s recovery is yet to be completed.

Despite a drop, the results still maintained historically high levels echoing those made by a separate survey last week by Lloyds Bank that pegged business confidence to be at their highest in 22 years. Corroborating these results is the more specific report from the manufacturing sector that showed the industry performing at its best quarterly rate in 20 years in terms of output growth. On the back of similar market indications, the UK economy is predicted to officially end its largest recession in 80 years by the end of July when figures on second quarter growth will be released.

The BCC’s director-general, John Longworth, agreed with the general rosy sentiment for the economy saying that the most recent results were brought on by the abrupt expansion during the beginning of 2014. According to Longworth, the dampened responses point towards the continuation of the UK recovery behind stabilizing growth rates.

The UK economy expanded by 0.8% during the first quarter of the year. It is believed that a pickup in the growth rate will influence the Bank of England to pull interest rates back up sooner than what has been scheduled.