Business investment for Q4 2009 is estimated to have fallen by 5.8% and by 24.1% over the year. The figure for Q4 was £27,121m. Investment by public and private sector manufacturing fell by 8.2% (CVM) on the previous quarter and 35.3% over the year. The figure for Q4 was £2,304m.
Investment in services fell by 8.3% in Q4 and compared with Q4 2008 have fallen by 30.6% to £18,376m. Other production increased their investment by 7.8% on the previous quarter and by 20.9% compared with Q4 2008 to £5,070m. Construction investment fell by 24.5% on Q3 2009 and by 22.3% on Q4 2008 to £435m.
Investment in both computer sofware and hardware by the private sector increased over the qaurter. Total private sector computer software investment for Q4 2009 was £1,486m up from £1,387m in Q3. Total private sector computer hardware investment in Q4 2009 was £1,396m up from £1,251m. These estimates seem to suggest that about 9.75% of private sector business investment was in Q4 2009 on computer software and hardware. This was divided 5% and 4.75% between software and hardware respectively. In manufacturing, investment in computer software and hardware was about 9.25% and in the service sector it was about 11.75%.
Friday, 26 February 2010
Friday, 19 February 2010
Value And Volume Of January Sales Up On Year
The seasonally adjusted value of retail sales in January 2010 went up by 3.2% year-on-year and the volume went up by 0.9%. The change in value of sales over the previous quarter was an increase of 3.7% and the change in volume of sales over the same period was an increase of 2.2%.
These figures from the ONS now include automotive fuel in the headline estimates of retail sales. The indices excluding fuels were an increase of 3.7% in value on last year and an increase of 2.6% in volume. The changes on the last quarter were an increase of 3.6% in value and 3.2% in volume.
The monthly sales values for the food stores sector were 3% higher than a year ago and non-food stores the same. The monthly sales volume of the food stores sector was 0.4% up and the non-food stores was 2.8% up.
The prices of retail sales in January 2010 rose by 2.3% on January last year. The non-seasonally adjusted average weekly value of Internet retail sales was £400m which is approximately 8% of all retail sales. The estimated total value of retail sales in January was £21.9bn. The average weekly value of sales was £5.5bn.
The earlier data from the BRC that suggested January had been a bad month for retail sales also added that because the survey had been carried out in early January sales might improve later in the month to give a different picture.
These figures from the ONS now include automotive fuel in the headline estimates of retail sales. The indices excluding fuels were an increase of 3.7% in value on last year and an increase of 2.6% in volume. The changes on the last quarter were an increase of 3.6% in value and 3.2% in volume.
The monthly sales values for the food stores sector were 3% higher than a year ago and non-food stores the same. The monthly sales volume of the food stores sector was 0.4% up and the non-food stores was 2.8% up.
The prices of retail sales in January 2010 rose by 2.3% on January last year. The non-seasonally adjusted average weekly value of Internet retail sales was £400m which is approximately 8% of all retail sales. The estimated total value of retail sales in January was £21.9bn. The average weekly value of sales was £5.5bn.
The earlier data from the BRC that suggested January had been a bad month for retail sales also added that because the survey had been carried out in early January sales might improve later in the month to give a different picture.
Higher Borrowing Lower Budget Surplus
In January 2010, public sector net borrowing (PSNB) was £4.3bn which is £9.6bn higher than in 2009 when there was net lending of £5.3bn. The current budget surplus was £1.2bn, but it is a lower surplus than January 2009 when it was £10.2bn. Public sector net investment was £5.5bn. Central government borrowing was £2.96bn and local government was £1.96bn, public corporations reported a negative borrowing figure of £591bn giving the £4.3bn PSNB figure. The public sector net cash requirement was -£11.770bn compared to the -£24.853bn net cash requirement of January 2009. Public sector net debt was £848.5bn, equivalent to 59.9% of GDP compared to 50% GDP last year and 61.4% last month.
The financial interventions made by the government affected public sector net debt and public sector net borrowing because public sector banks, the special liquidity scheme and the asset purchase facility transactions with the financial sector were excluded from the PSNB statistics. There were a number of public sector bank transactions with the government, equity and capital injections and depositor compensations included in PSNB.
The central government account shows total current receipts were £50.5bn, total current expenditure was £49.5bn and depreciation was -£0.6bn giving a current budget £0.4bn. Taxes on income and wealth made the largest contribution to central government receipts with £19.45bn followed by taxes on production with £13.6bn and compulsory social contributions with £8bn. The largest contributors to central government current expenditure were net social benefits with £13.99bn and 'others' with £31.23bn according to the ONS statistical bulletin on public sector finances.
The financial interventions made by the government affected public sector net debt and public sector net borrowing because public sector banks, the special liquidity scheme and the asset purchase facility transactions with the financial sector were excluded from the PSNB statistics. There were a number of public sector bank transactions with the government, equity and capital injections and depositor compensations included in PSNB.
The central government account shows total current receipts were £50.5bn, total current expenditure was £49.5bn and depreciation was -£0.6bn giving a current budget £0.4bn. Taxes on income and wealth made the largest contribution to central government receipts with £19.45bn followed by taxes on production with £13.6bn and compulsory social contributions with £8bn. The largest contributors to central government current expenditure were net social benefits with £13.99bn and 'others' with £31.23bn according to the ONS statistical bulletin on public sector finances.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Increase In Long-Term Unemployment
The employment rate for October to December 2009 was 72.4%, down 0.1% on the quarter and 28.91m employed people, down 12,000. The number in full-time employment fell 37,000 to 21.22m. Part-time employment increased by 25,000 to 7.67m. The workforce also included 1.04m part-time people looking for a full-time job, the highest since 1992, up 37,000 on the quarter.
The unemployment rate was unchanged 7.8% and there were 2.46m unemployed people, 3,000 fewer than the last quarter. There were 37,000 more long-term unemployed over the quarter to give a total of 663,000, the highest figure since the quarter to September 1997. There were 725,00 18-24 year olds unemployed. In January 2010 there were 1.64m people claiming Job Seeker's Allowance, an increase of 23,500 since December 2009 following two successive monthly falls. The claimant count rate is 5%.
The inactivity rate for the quarter to December was uo 0.2% to 21.3%. The highest ever inactivity rate recorded was 23.3% in 1983. There were 8.06m inactive working age people over the quarter due to an increase of 72,000 thanks to an increase of 62,000 students to 2.62m, the highest since records began.
The number of vacancies in the three months to January 2010 was 479,000, an increase of 49,000. There were 1.8 vacancies for every 100 employee jobs. Redundancies totalled 168,000 in the three months to December. The redundancy rate was 6.8 per 1000 employees.
Total pay (including bonuses) rose by 0.8% on last year to £451/week. Regular pay (excluding bonuses) rose by 1.2% on last year to £425/week. Private sector average total pay in December 2009 was £448/week and was unchanged on a year earlier. Average regular pay was £416/week. Public sector average total pay was £457/week and rose 3.7% over the year. Average regular pay (excluding bonuses) in the public sector was £456/week and rose 3.9% over the year.
Whole economy unit wage costs rose by 4.1% in the third quarter of 2009 compared with a year earlier while productivity was 3.1% lower. Manufacturing unit wage costs decreased by 0.7% while manufacturing productivity increased by 3.6% over the same period.
Public sector employment totalled 6.09m, an increase of 23,000 and the private sector accounted for 22.82m, up 15,000 from June 2009. There were 30.86m workforce jobs in September 2009, down 127,000 over the quarter and 649,00 over the year. Construction alone fell by 67,000, agriculture by 1,000, production jobs fell by 41,000 and services by 18,000. There were 2.6m employee jobs in manufacturing.
Hours worked totalled 907.0m in the quarter to December, down 1.8m on the previous qaurter. Average weekly hours in the quarter to December were 31.5, unchanged from September 2009.
In the three months to December 2009 there were 25.26m UK nationals and 3.72m non-UK people in employment. Some 3,000 working days were lost due to 11 labour dispute stoppages.
The unemployment rate was unchanged 7.8% and there were 2.46m unemployed people, 3,000 fewer than the last quarter. There were 37,000 more long-term unemployed over the quarter to give a total of 663,000, the highest figure since the quarter to September 1997. There were 725,00 18-24 year olds unemployed. In January 2010 there were 1.64m people claiming Job Seeker's Allowance, an increase of 23,500 since December 2009 following two successive monthly falls. The claimant count rate is 5%.
The inactivity rate for the quarter to December was uo 0.2% to 21.3%. The highest ever inactivity rate recorded was 23.3% in 1983. There were 8.06m inactive working age people over the quarter due to an increase of 72,000 thanks to an increase of 62,000 students to 2.62m, the highest since records began.
The number of vacancies in the three months to January 2010 was 479,000, an increase of 49,000. There were 1.8 vacancies for every 100 employee jobs. Redundancies totalled 168,000 in the three months to December. The redundancy rate was 6.8 per 1000 employees.
Total pay (including bonuses) rose by 0.8% on last year to £451/week. Regular pay (excluding bonuses) rose by 1.2% on last year to £425/week. Private sector average total pay in December 2009 was £448/week and was unchanged on a year earlier. Average regular pay was £416/week. Public sector average total pay was £457/week and rose 3.7% over the year. Average regular pay (excluding bonuses) in the public sector was £456/week and rose 3.9% over the year.
Whole economy unit wage costs rose by 4.1% in the third quarter of 2009 compared with a year earlier while productivity was 3.1% lower. Manufacturing unit wage costs decreased by 0.7% while manufacturing productivity increased by 3.6% over the same period.
Public sector employment totalled 6.09m, an increase of 23,000 and the private sector accounted for 22.82m, up 15,000 from June 2009. There were 30.86m workforce jobs in September 2009, down 127,000 over the quarter and 649,00 over the year. Construction alone fell by 67,000, agriculture by 1,000, production jobs fell by 41,000 and services by 18,000. There were 2.6m employee jobs in manufacturing.
Hours worked totalled 907.0m in the quarter to December, down 1.8m on the previous qaurter. Average weekly hours in the quarter to December were 31.5, unchanged from September 2009.
In the three months to December 2009 there were 25.26m UK nationals and 3.72m non-UK people in employment. Some 3,000 working days were lost due to 11 labour dispute stoppages.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
January Increase In Equity Trades
The average number of daily trades during January 2010 was 831,892 compared to 640,169 in December 2009 and was 6% lower than January 2009. The average daily value traded across the London Stock Exchange Group was up 14% to £7.1bn.
The groups other markets are continuing to perform well with MTS and ETFs and ETCs showing good growth. The average daily value traded on MTS more than doubled to reach £10.5bn, a 103% increase on January last year. ETCs and ETFs increased 85% and 50% respectively.
Derivatives trading was up 16% on January 2009 at an average 417.686 contracts daily. IDEM average daily value was up 41% at £2.5bn EDX was up 29% to 299,889 despite the end of the NASDAQ link agreement and stoppage of trading in Swedish index products.
The groups other markets are continuing to perform well with MTS and ETFs and ETCs showing good growth. The average daily value traded on MTS more than doubled to reach £10.5bn, a 103% increase on January last year. ETCs and ETFs increased 85% and 50% respectively.
Derivatives trading was up 16% on January 2009 at an average 417.686 contracts daily. IDEM average daily value was up 41% at £2.5bn EDX was up 29% to 299,889 despite the end of the NASDAQ link agreement and stoppage of trading in Swedish index products.
Lifestyles Data
The pattern of UK music sales over the past 35 years has changed from mainly vinyl in 1975 (92m), to cassettes in 1989 (83m) and CDs in 1992 (71m) and now in 2008, downloads account for 7% of the market (10.3m).
Other interesting cultural facts include that in 2008 only 42% of over 15 year olds read a national daily paper compared with 72% in 1978. There was a 0.2% increase in British people taking holidays abroad between 2007-8 to make a new record of 45.5m holidays.
In 2008 there were 164m UK cinema admissions compared with the 1.6bn admissions at the peak of cinema attendance in 1948. The 2008 figure is a 1.1% increase on 2007 but a fall of 6.7% on the most recent peak of 176m visits in 2002. The proportion of men and women going to the cinema has remained unchanged. More males over 7 (20%) went to the cinema than females over 7 (17%). The age group that goes to the cinema most frequently are the 15-24 year olds with 41% going at least once a month along with 31% of 7-14 year olds and 22% of 25-34 year olds.
Film genre preferences varied with age. The most popular genres for 7-14s were comedy, musicals, family films and animations, 15-24s preferred youth-themes, crime, action and comedy films, 35-44s preferred adventure and animation, 45-54s preferred drama, musicals and action and over 55s preferred drama, musicals and comedy.
In 2008 15 of the top 20 films at the UK box office were US productions and the other 5 were UK/US collaborations including 'Mamma Mia', 'Quantum of Solace' and 'The Dark Knight' according to the UK Film Council.
Other interesting cultural facts include that in 2008 only 42% of over 15 year olds read a national daily paper compared with 72% in 1978. There was a 0.2% increase in British people taking holidays abroad between 2007-8 to make a new record of 45.5m holidays.
In 2008 there were 164m UK cinema admissions compared with the 1.6bn admissions at the peak of cinema attendance in 1948. The 2008 figure is a 1.1% increase on 2007 but a fall of 6.7% on the most recent peak of 176m visits in 2002. The proportion of men and women going to the cinema has remained unchanged. More males over 7 (20%) went to the cinema than females over 7 (17%). The age group that goes to the cinema most frequently are the 15-24 year olds with 41% going at least once a month along with 31% of 7-14 year olds and 22% of 25-34 year olds.
Film genre preferences varied with age. The most popular genres for 7-14s were comedy, musicals, family films and animations, 15-24s preferred youth-themes, crime, action and comedy films, 35-44s preferred adventure and animation, 45-54s preferred drama, musicals and action and over 55s preferred drama, musicals and comedy.
In 2008 15 of the top 20 films at the UK box office were US productions and the other 5 were UK/US collaborations including 'Mamma Mia', 'Quantum of Solace' and 'The Dark Knight' according to the UK Film Council.
Inflation Hits 3.5%
The Governor of the Bank of England had to write to the Prime Minister to explain the fact that CPI inflation hit 3.5% in January. It is the second largest ever increase in the annual rate between 2 months. There was a 1% increase in the annual rate between November and December. CPI records began in 1996. The all items CPI is 112.4 down from 112.6 in December a change of 0.2% and although the index took a downward movement it is the greatest growth ever for those two months.
Both of these record movement can be at least partially explained by the 15% to 17.5% increase in VAT in January which also affected RPI. Another factor was the price of crude oil. The all goods CPI annual rate is 3.9% from 3.2% last month and the all services CPI annual rate is 3% from 2.6% last month.
The all items RPI in January was 217.9 down from 218 in December, the annual rate being 3.7% from 2.4%. The RPIX (excluding mortgage interest payments) was 4.6% from 3.8%. The all goods index was 169.3 from 169.7 or an annual rate of 6.5% from 5.3%. The all services index was 288.6 from 288.2, or an annual rate of 3.1% from 2.8% last month.
The largest upward contribution to the annual rate of CPI was from transport. Within transport the largest contribution came from a 2.2% rise in the price of fuels and lubricants compared with a fall of 3.4% last year. There were also large upward contributions from maintenance and repairs and the purchase of new and second hand cars. These were partially offset by a fall in prices in fares particularly in long-haul routes and sea transport. Another significant upward contribution came from recreation and culture where recording media particularly DVD purchases were significant along with subscriptions to cable and digital television.
Housing was a significant contributor to the increase in the RPI where mortgage interest payments rose this year but fell a year ago. After housing came motoring expenses mainly petrol and oil. Tobacco was also a significant contributor along with food, alcohol and household services, fuel and light and leisure goods.
Both of these record movement can be at least partially explained by the 15% to 17.5% increase in VAT in January which also affected RPI. Another factor was the price of crude oil. The all goods CPI annual rate is 3.9% from 3.2% last month and the all services CPI annual rate is 3% from 2.6% last month.
The all items RPI in January was 217.9 down from 218 in December, the annual rate being 3.7% from 2.4%. The RPIX (excluding mortgage interest payments) was 4.6% from 3.8%. The all goods index was 169.3 from 169.7 or an annual rate of 6.5% from 5.3%. The all services index was 288.6 from 288.2, or an annual rate of 3.1% from 2.8% last month.
The largest upward contribution to the annual rate of CPI was from transport. Within transport the largest contribution came from a 2.2% rise in the price of fuels and lubricants compared with a fall of 3.4% last year. There were also large upward contributions from maintenance and repairs and the purchase of new and second hand cars. These were partially offset by a fall in prices in fares particularly in long-haul routes and sea transport. Another significant upward contribution came from recreation and culture where recording media particularly DVD purchases were significant along with subscriptions to cable and digital television.
Housing was a significant contributor to the increase in the RPI where mortgage interest payments rose this year but fell a year ago. After housing came motoring expenses mainly petrol and oil. Tobacco was also a significant contributor along with food, alcohol and household services, fuel and light and leisure goods.
Employers Aware Of AWD
The Report on Jobs survey for January produced by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG says that permanent placements have increased for the sixth consecutive month but not as strongly as last month. Temporary/contract placements also rose markedly. Demand for staff increased with vacancies up for the fourth consecutive month and at the strongest rate since July 2007.
Salaries are continuing to increase but at a slightly slower rate of growth in January. By historical standards the growth is still weak.
REC JobsOutlook says that 85% of businesses have now heard of Agency Workers Directive (AWD), 18 months ago less than 50%. Recruitment agencies must be able to meet the demands of their clients and be ready to answer any questions.
Salaries are continuing to increase but at a slightly slower rate of growth in January. By historical standards the growth is still weak.
REC JobsOutlook says that 85% of businesses have now heard of Agency Workers Directive (AWD), 18 months ago less than 50%. Recruitment agencies must be able to meet the demands of their clients and be ready to answer any questions.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Ups And Downs Of Output
The Index of Production fell by 3.6% in December 2009 compared with December 2008. The index for the whole of 2009 fell by 10.2% compared with 2008. Within the production industries the Index of Manufacturing for December 2009 fell by 1.9% year-on-year. The Index of Manufacturing for the whole of 2009 fell by 10.5% compared with 2008. The indices are seasonally adjusted. Month-on-month both the IoP and the IoM reported an increase for the third month in a row, of 0.5% and 0.9% respectively.
The Index of Production is produced by the Office for National Statistics and measures the volume of production of the manufacturing, mining and quarrying and energy supply industries and covers 23.1% of the UK economy as it was in the base year 2000. The Index of Manufacturing covers the 13 sub-sectors of manufacturing and the aggregate forms the manufacturing output time series.
In December output decreased in 9 of the 13 manufacturing sub-sectors and rose in 4 of them. The machinery and equipment industries reported the largest decreases and fell by 13.6% with the manufacturing of machinery for the production of mechanical power the largest contributor with a decrease of 22.6%. The paper, printing and publishing industries fell by 4.2% with the publishing of newspapers making the largest contribution with a fall of 8.1%. In the mining and quarrying sector, the oil and gas extraction sub-sector contributed a decrease of 9.9% to the overall sector fall of 12.1% in December 2009 compared with December 2008. Other mining and quarrying decreased by 35.3%. The energy, gas and water supply industries index fell by 6.6%.
In the main industrial groupings, consumer durables reported an increase of 0.1%. The other main groups reported falls. Consumer non-durables decreased by 1.3%, capital items by 0.8% and intermediate goods by 6.5%.
The Index of Production can be used on its own as a short term indicator as the Index covered 78.6% of the total IoP in the base year. It is usually the first indicator of economic activity and an important component of GDP and National Accounts.
The Index of Production is produced by the Office for National Statistics and measures the volume of production of the manufacturing, mining and quarrying and energy supply industries and covers 23.1% of the UK economy as it was in the base year 2000. The Index of Manufacturing covers the 13 sub-sectors of manufacturing and the aggregate forms the manufacturing output time series.
In December output decreased in 9 of the 13 manufacturing sub-sectors and rose in 4 of them. The machinery and equipment industries reported the largest decreases and fell by 13.6% with the manufacturing of machinery for the production of mechanical power the largest contributor with a decrease of 22.6%. The paper, printing and publishing industries fell by 4.2% with the publishing of newspapers making the largest contribution with a fall of 8.1%. In the mining and quarrying sector, the oil and gas extraction sub-sector contributed a decrease of 9.9% to the overall sector fall of 12.1% in December 2009 compared with December 2008. Other mining and quarrying decreased by 35.3%. The energy, gas and water supply industries index fell by 6.6%.
In the main industrial groupings, consumer durables reported an increase of 0.1%. The other main groups reported falls. Consumer non-durables decreased by 1.3%, capital items by 0.8% and intermediate goods by 6.5%.
The Index of Production can be used on its own as a short term indicator as the Index covered 78.6% of the total IoP in the base year. It is usually the first indicator of economic activity and an important component of GDP and National Accounts.
The Worst January Sales Growth For 15 Years
Retail sales got off to a bad start in 2010 with a like-for-like fall of 0.7% in January 2010 compared with the 1.1% rise in January 2009. On a total basis, January sales in 2010 reported an increase of 1.2% compared with the 3.2% of January 2009.
The weather was a factor as snow seemed to affect shoppers. Food sales went up in the first week of January while non-food sales suffered, especially discretionary items. Food sales slowed down and non-food sales improved slightly as the weather got better.
Internet, mail order and telephone sales were 14.6% higher in January 2010 than January 2009 and 26.5% in December. The snow may also have been a factor in the improvement of online sales. There was growth in the number of new online customers. Non-store retailing is the fastest growing sector but it still only accounts for 4% of total sales.
The weather was a factor as snow seemed to affect shoppers. Food sales went up in the first week of January while non-food sales suffered, especially discretionary items. Food sales slowed down and non-food sales improved slightly as the weather got better.
Internet, mail order and telephone sales were 14.6% higher in January 2010 than January 2009 and 26.5% in December. The snow may also have been a factor in the improvement of online sales. There was growth in the number of new online customers. Non-store retailing is the fastest growing sector but it still only accounts for 4% of total sales.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
First Annual Figures For UK Trade 2009
The UK Trade deficit in goods and services in December 2009 was £3.3bn and in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2009 the deficit was £9.5bn. In November the figures were £2.9bn and £8.1bn respectively. In December 2008 it was £2bn.
The total balance of trade in goods and services with the world was a deficit of £7.3bn. The geographical pattern was that trade with the EU produced a deficit of £3.7bn and non-EU trade left a deficit of £3.6bn. The balance of trade in services left a surplus of £4bn. EU trade increased slightly and then remained the same over the last three months whereas non-EU trade decreased then increased again in December. The trend of growth in services has continued.
The first annual data for the whole of 2009 show that the trade deficit in goods and services narrowed by £4.4bn to £33.8bn in 2009. In 2008 it was £38.2bn. Trade in services, which is also included in the overall figure, in contrast, reported a surplus of £48.1bn in 2009. The surplus in trade in services decreased from a surplus of £55.1bn in 2008.
The deficit with EU countries narrowed by £2.5bn to £37bn in 2009 from £39.5bn in 2008. The non-EU deficit narrowed from £53.9bn in 2008 to December4.9bn in 2009, a difference of £9bn. The UKs most significant export trading partner outside the EU was the USA (£33.8bn) followed by Germany (£24.4bn). On imports it was the other way around. We imported more from Germany (£39.7bn) than anywhere else with USA second (£24.6bn).
There was a deficit in value on trade in goods of £7.3bn. Exports rose by £0.9bn, imports rose by £1.4bn. There were no great changes in the level of exports to any country over £0.2bn.
In terms of imports and exports, the volume of exports increased by 1%, imports by 4.5% in December. In Q4, the volume of exports increased by 5.8% and imports 7.2%. The price of exports increased by 0.1% and import 0.3% in December compared with November leading to a decrease in terms of trade. Over the quarter, export prices increased by 2% and import prices by 2.1%, leaving the terms of trade unchanged.
The total balance of trade in goods and services with the world was a deficit of £7.3bn. The geographical pattern was that trade with the EU produced a deficit of £3.7bn and non-EU trade left a deficit of £3.6bn. The balance of trade in services left a surplus of £4bn. EU trade increased slightly and then remained the same over the last three months whereas non-EU trade decreased then increased again in December. The trend of growth in services has continued.
The first annual data for the whole of 2009 show that the trade deficit in goods and services narrowed by £4.4bn to £33.8bn in 2009. In 2008 it was £38.2bn. Trade in services, which is also included in the overall figure, in contrast, reported a surplus of £48.1bn in 2009. The surplus in trade in services decreased from a surplus of £55.1bn in 2008.
The deficit with EU countries narrowed by £2.5bn to £37bn in 2009 from £39.5bn in 2008. The non-EU deficit narrowed from £53.9bn in 2008 to December4.9bn in 2009, a difference of £9bn. The UKs most significant export trading partner outside the EU was the USA (£33.8bn) followed by Germany (£24.4bn). On imports it was the other way around. We imported more from Germany (£39.7bn) than anywhere else with USA second (£24.6bn).
There was a deficit in value on trade in goods of £7.3bn. Exports rose by £0.9bn, imports rose by £1.4bn. There were no great changes in the level of exports to any country over £0.2bn.
In terms of imports and exports, the volume of exports increased by 1%, imports by 4.5% in December. In Q4, the volume of exports increased by 5.8% and imports 7.2%. The price of exports increased by 0.1% and import 0.3% in December compared with November leading to a decrease in terms of trade. Over the quarter, export prices increased by 2% and import prices by 2.1%, leaving the terms of trade unchanged.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Stronger Expansion Indicators In OECD Economies
The economic outlook for OECD countries is getting better as the composite leading indicators (CLI) suggest stronger expansion is taking place. The G7 were all close to or above their long term trends. The underlying indicator in all these countries is industrial production and in them it has reached a trough. Expansion in the case of OECD CLIs means that the CLI is above the long term trend of the underlying indicator.
The CLI for the OECD increased by 0.9 in December 2009 and at 103.1 was 10.1 points higher than December 2008. The UK CLI increased by 0.9 from 104.9 to 105.8 and was 11.5 points higher than last year. The US and the Euro area also increased by 0.9 and were 9 and 12.2 points higher than last year respectively.
Inflation indicators from OECD include CPI which increased by 1.9% in year to December 2009. In the G7 it was 1.7%. Consumer prices for food fell by 1% in the year to December and for energy they went up by 8.5%. Consumer prices rose by 0.5% between 2008 and 2009 compared to 3.7% between 2007-8. The annual inflation rate in the UK in December was 2.9%. In the euro area inflation (HICP) was 0.9% in December 2009. US inflation (CPI) rose by 2.7% over the year to December.
The CLI for the OECD increased by 0.9 in December 2009 and at 103.1 was 10.1 points higher than December 2008. The UK CLI increased by 0.9 from 104.9 to 105.8 and was 11.5 points higher than last year. The US and the Euro area also increased by 0.9 and were 9 and 12.2 points higher than last year respectively.
Inflation indicators from OECD include CPI which increased by 1.9% in year to December 2009. In the G7 it was 1.7%. Consumer prices for food fell by 1% in the year to December and for energy they went up by 8.5%. Consumer prices rose by 0.5% between 2008 and 2009 compared to 3.7% between 2007-8. The annual inflation rate in the UK in December was 2.9%. In the euro area inflation (HICP) was 0.9% in December 2009. US inflation (CPI) rose by 2.7% over the year to December.
Biggest Fall Ever In Natural Resource Use
The UK economy used 613m tonnes of natural resources between 2007 and 2008 according to ONS environmental accounts published last week. Domestic material consumption fell by a record 67m tonnes during the period. Resource use had remained more or less unchanged for 10 years. The fall reflects decreases in the domestic extraction industry mainly regarding primary aggregates like crushed stone, sand and gravel.
Direct material input (DMI) which is the sum of domestic and imported primary resources totalled 781m tonnes of which domestic production accounted for 502m tonnes, down 9.9%, and imports 278m tonnes, down 5.1%. Total material requirement (TMR) fell between 2007 and 2008 by 6.3% to 1,974m tonnes.
Environmental taxes, which can be divided into energy, transport, pollution and resources, amounted to £38.5bn in 2008, an increase of £0.6bn on 2007 and 2.7% of GDP in 2008. Households are paying over half the environmental taxes at 55.1% which amounted to £20.9bn, followed by transport and communication at 15.8% or £5.98bn, the wholesale and retail trade at 6.8% or £2.6bn and manufacturing at 4.9% or £1.9bn. The construction industry is growing in its contributions to environmental taxes.
Industries spent a total of 4.6bn on environmental protection in 2007. The chemicals industry spent £655m, the food industry 457m and the energy production and water industries spent 1.8bn on environmental protection in 2007 mainly on waste management, other abatement activities and air and climate protection.
Direct material input (DMI) which is the sum of domestic and imported primary resources totalled 781m tonnes of which domestic production accounted for 502m tonnes, down 9.9%, and imports 278m tonnes, down 5.1%. Total material requirement (TMR) fell between 2007 and 2008 by 6.3% to 1,974m tonnes.
Environmental taxes, which can be divided into energy, transport, pollution and resources, amounted to £38.5bn in 2008, an increase of £0.6bn on 2007 and 2.7% of GDP in 2008. Households are paying over half the environmental taxes at 55.1% which amounted to £20.9bn, followed by transport and communication at 15.8% or £5.98bn, the wholesale and retail trade at 6.8% or £2.6bn and manufacturing at 4.9% or £1.9bn. The construction industry is growing in its contributions to environmental taxes.
Industries spent a total of 4.6bn on environmental protection in 2007. The chemicals industry spent £655m, the food industry 457m and the energy production and water industries spent 1.8bn on environmental protection in 2007 mainly on waste management, other abatement activities and air and climate protection.
Factory Gate Prices Increase Again
Output prices rose overall by 3.8% in the year to January, compared with a 3.5% rise in the year to December. The index rose 0.4% between December and January mainly due to price rises in petrol products, tobacco and alcohol products and other manufactured products. Input prices for materials and fuels rose 8.4% in the year to January compared with 7.4% in the year to December and 2% between December 2009 and January 2010 compared with 0.6% between November and December 2009.
Over the year to January output prices increased in all catogories except textiles and clothing which decreased by o.2% The biggest increase was in petroleum products with 20.6%. Electrical and optical went up 4.3%, tobacco and alcohol by 3.7% and both transport and other products by 3.3%. The changes over the month to January saw decreases in the output prices of food at 0.1%, textiles and clothing at 1.2% and metal products at 0.1%. Petroleum products went up by 1.7% which was the biggest increase over the month.
Input prices were generally up with a 70.6% rise in the price of crude oil. Impiorted metals went up by 7.1%. A number of categories prices went down in January including fuel at 16.1%. Imported food materials prices decreased by 2.8%, home food materials prices decreased by 5.7% and other home produced materials by 0.7%. Over the month the price of crude oil increased by 5.3% and fuel by 3.1%. Home food products materials prices increased by 0.4% and imported food materials products by 0.3%.
Over the year to January output prices increased in all catogories except textiles and clothing which decreased by o.2% The biggest increase was in petroleum products with 20.6%. Electrical and optical went up 4.3%, tobacco and alcohol by 3.7% and both transport and other products by 3.3%. The changes over the month to January saw decreases in the output prices of food at 0.1%, textiles and clothing at 1.2% and metal products at 0.1%. Petroleum products went up by 1.7% which was the biggest increase over the month.
Input prices were generally up with a 70.6% rise in the price of crude oil. Impiorted metals went up by 7.1%. A number of categories prices went down in January including fuel at 16.1%. Imported food materials prices decreased by 2.8%, home food materials prices decreased by 5.7% and other home produced materials by 0.7%. Over the month the price of crude oil increased by 5.3% and fuel by 3.1%. Home food products materials prices increased by 0.4% and imported food materials products by 0.3%.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Shop Prices Up Slightly On December
Shop price inflation went up by 2.3% in January 2009 compared with 2.2% last month according to the Shop Price Index from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Food inflation however decreased from 3.7% in December to 2.9%. Non-food inflation increased from 1.4% to 1.9% in January.
Weak post-Christmas demand and competition kept prices down in January. The VAT increase which was expected to contribute to price increases was not passed on to customers and discounts and promotions also helped.
Food inflation was kept low because of the prices of fresh foods like meat and milk but large price rises in commodities like sugar and coca may mean price increases if they continue to put pressure on food inflation.
Weak post-Christmas demand and competition kept prices down in January. The VAT increase which was expected to contribute to price increases was not passed on to customers and discounts and promotions also helped.
Food inflation was kept low because of the prices of fresh foods like meat and milk but large price rises in commodities like sugar and coca may mean price increases if they continue to put pressure on food inflation.
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