The Bank of England Agents’ Summary for December 2012 has now been published. The key headlines were:
- Subdued demand and intense competition, which restricted prices, ensured that business services growth remained modest
- Annual manufacturing output remained marginally negative, although production for export outperformed the domestic markets
- Construction output continued to decline through 2012
- Positive investment intentions can be seen within the manufacturing and service sectors
- Manufacturing and service sectors are operating below normal levels of capacity utilisation
- Labour costs per employee increased in both manufacturing and service sectors
