UK to grow at stable level as 2014 kicks off
THE RECENT boost to economic optimism appears to be stabilising, after rapid improvements in consumer and business confidence earlier in the year.
According to the Conference Board, which measures economic sentiment in countries around the world, the British economy was still picking up pace in October, but was reaching a more stable level.
The group’s leading economic index for the UK reached 108.4, with 100 marking the 2004 level of the index. After 1.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent jumps in August and September, the index only rose by 0.4 per cent in the first month of the year’s final quarter.
During the six months to October, the index has risen by 4.4 per cent in total, tracking the nascent recovery in GDP recorded in the second and third quarters.
The only one of the board’s seven indicators to decline was volume of expected output. The other six used by the group increased, including productivity, tock prices and volumes of new orders. Bert Colijn, an economist at the Conference Board, said that the group projects moderate economic growth during early 2014.