7.1% Fall In Business Investment

Business investment fell by 7.1% to £28.1bn in the first quarter of 2011 compared with the previous quarter and by 3.2% on the first quarter of 2010. Manufacturing investment also fell on the quarter by 1.2% to £2.8bn but increased 14.8% over the year. Non-manufacturing investment fell by 7.7% to £25.3bn over the quarter and 4.8% over the year. In the private sector, investment by services fell to £19.4bn from £21.6bn in Q4 2010.