Kirk's Comments

GDP Down By 0.2%

2012-01-26T17:18:00.000Z

The preliminary estimates for GDP suggest that GDP decreased by 0.2% in Q4 2011. Production output decreased by 1.2% after a 0.3% increase in the previous quarter. Services were unchanged whereas they increased 0.7% in the previous quarter. The construction sector decreased by 0.5%.

The biggest single contributor to the decline in the production industries came from manufacturing followed by electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning.

Public Borrowing Lower Than Last December

2012-01-26T17:17:00.001Z

The latest ONS figures for public sector finances show that there was a current budget deficit (excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions) of £10.8 billion in December 2011, £2.5bn lower than in December 2010.

Public sector net borrowing (excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions) of £13.7 billion in December 2011, £2.2bn lower than December 2010.

Public sector net debt (excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions) was £1003.9 billion, equivalent to 64.2% of GDP. PSND was £883bn in December 2010.

High Street Sales Up On December Last Year

2012-01-26T17:00:00.000Z

The value and volume of retail sales increased in December 2011 over December 2010 according to ONS. Sales values increased by 6.2% over last year while volumes increased by 2.6% over the same period. Volumes were driven mainly by motor fuel and textiles, clothing and footwear stores. Last year was hit particularly badly by the weather.

An estimated £42.1bn was spent in retail during December compared to £29bn in November. An estimated £343.2bn was spent in total during 2011 compared with £326.2bn in 2010. Internet sales were an estimated 10.9% of all sales at £837.1m in December. Last year the figure was £652m (9.1%).

Unemployment Up To 8.4%

2012-01-26T16:58:00.000Z

The unemployment rate went up 0.3% to 8.4% for the three months to November 2011. It the highest since 1995. The number of unemployed people went up to 2.68m. The highest since 1994. The number of young unemployed, those between 16 and 24, at 1.04m, is the highest it has been since comparable records began in 1992. The employment rate was 70.3% with 29.12m people in employment.

Average total pay was £464/week in November 2011 and average regular pay (excluding bonuses) was £438/week. Total pay rose 1.9% in the three months to November and regular pay rose by the same amount over the same period. Average total pay in the private sector was £462/week and regular pay £428/week and in the public sector total pay was £477/week and regular pay was £465/week.

Labour productivity increased by 1.2% between Q2 and Q3 2011 and unit labour costs increased by 0.5%. There were 164,000 redundancies in the three months before the ONS labour force survey. Workforce jobs increased by 150,000 to 31.27m. Administrative and support services jobs showed the biggest increase.

The number of vacancies fell to 463,000 in the three months to December 2011 or 1.8 vacancies per 100 employee jobs. (ONS)

Inflation Down To 4.2% In December

2012-01-26T16:54:00.000Z

CPI annual inflation for Decmber 2011 stood at 4.2%, down from 4.8% in November. The biggest downward pressure came from petrol, gas and clothing. Upward pressure came mainly from landline and mobile telephone charges.

RPI stood at 4.8%, down from 5.2% in November. The main pressures on the RPI came from the same sectors as affected the CPI with upward pressure also coming from car insurance. Data from ONS.

Factory Gate Prices At A Low

2012-01-13T15:23:00.000Z

The producer price index, which measures the changes in input and output prices of goods bought and sold by manufacturers in the UK, reported an annual increase in December of 4.8%, the lowest annual rate for factory gate prices for home sales of manufactured products since December 2010. The monthly index fell by 0.2%, the first monthly fall since July 2010.

Over the year the biggest percentage increases were in petroleum products (10.5%), food products (7.1%) and tobacco and alcohol (6.6%).

The total input price index rose by 8.7% in the year to December, the lowest annual rate since October 2010. It was 13.6% the previous month. The monthly index fell by 0.6%.

The biggest percentage changes in the month to December were falls in the prices for petroleum products and chemicals and pharmaceuticals (both -0.9%) and increases in the prices of food, paper and printing and computer, electrical and optical (all 0.1%).

The producer price index provides a key measure of inflation along with other indicators like the CPI and the RPI.

Estimates Show Euro Area Trade Surplus

2012-01-13T15:21:00.000Z

The first estimate from Eurostat for euro area trade with the world in November gave a surplus of 6.9bn euros. Exports rose by 3.9%. The EU27 reported a deficit of 7.2bn euros. Exports rose by 2.8%, but imports fell by 0.6%.

Fall In UK Production In November

2012-01-13T15:19:00.000Z

The annual index of production published by the ONS fell by 3.1% in November 2011. Manufacturing fell by 0.6%. The monthly index of production fell 0.6% between October and November, manufacturing falling by 0.2%.

The fall in the index was also mainly due to falls in mining and quarrying (14.2%) and energy (8.6%) as well as the fall in manufacturing. Oil and gas was the main contributor in the big decrease within mining and quarrying with a 16.7% decrease which contributed 14% of the 14.2% fall. The biggest contributor to the fall within manufacturing was in the basic pharmaceuticals and preparations industries with a 12.7% fall.

Industrial Production In Europe

2012-01-13T15:18:00.000Z

European industrial production fell in November by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU27, according to Eurostat. The monthly index suggests that production fell by 0.1% in both areas compared with October when the index fell by 0.3% in both zones.

UK Trade Deficit £2.6bn

2012-01-12T15:38:00.000Z

The UK seasonally adjusted trade deficit in goods and services in November was £2.6bn compared with £1.9bn for October 2011. Trade in goods was £8.6bn in deficit but the surplus on trade in services was £6.1bn. The volume of exports was down 1.7% and the volume of imports was up 1.1%. The prices of both exports and imports of goods fell by 0.4% and 0.2% respectively.

Global Food Prices Remain Fairly Stable In November

2012-01-12T15:36:00.000Z

The FAO Food Price Index fell slightly again in November 2011 with the average at 215 compared with 216 in October. There has been a downward trend in global food prices since February 2011. The annual food price index increased sharply in 2011 to 229 from the 185.3 of the previous year. They are the highest since at least 1990. The overall food price index reflects increases in the price indices of the commodity groups that make up the index. The prices for sugar, oils, and cereals reported sharp increases. Food is a volatile sector for prices.

Retail Trade Lower Across Europe In November

2012-01-12T15:34:00.001Z

First estimates from Eurostat suggest that retail trade volumes in the euro area fell by 0.8% over the month and by 2.5% over the year. In the EU27 trade fell by o.6% during November and 1.3% over the year.

Over the month the food, drinks and tobacco sector fell by 0.8% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU27. The non-food sector fell by 0.7% in both areas. Retail trade fell in 13 countries and rose in 7. Over the year, food, drinks and tobacco fell 1.6% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU27 while the non-food sector fell by 3% and 1.1% respectively. Over the year retail trade volumes fell in 10 member states and rose in 10.

New Orders On The Increase In Europe

2012-01-12T15:32:00.000Z

Industrial new orders increased by 1.8% in the euro area in October 2011 compared with a fall of 7.8% in September according to Eurostat. Orders also increased in the EU27 by 0.5% after a fall of 2.1%. Over the year since October 2010 industrial new orders increased by 1.6% in the euro area and by 2.6% in the EU27.

Producer Prices Up In Europe

2012-01-12T15:30:00.000Z

The industrial producer prices index by Eurostat increased by 0.2% in the euro area in November 2011 and by 0.3% in the EU27 compared with October. When compared with November 2010 the index went up by 5.3% in the euro area and by 6.3% in the EU27.

Total industry prices excluding energy fell by 0.1% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU27 in the monthly comparison. Energy prices increased by 0.9% and 0.1% respectively. Non-durable consumer goods increased by 0.3% in both areas and durables by 0.2%. Intermediate goods fell by 0.4% and 0.3% respectively and capital goods remained stable.

In the annual comparison total industry prices increased by 3% in the euro area and by 3.3% in the EU27. Energy prices increased by 12.3% and 13.8% respectively. Prices in the non-durable goods sector increased by 3.6% in the euro area and 4.2% in the EU27, intermediate goods by 3.5% and 3.8% respectively, durables by 2.6% in both zones and capital goods by 1.4% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU27.

Sweden reported the largest increases on the monthly comparison with 1.6%, followed by the UK, Ireland and Greece. Using the annual comparison, the greates increases were in the UK with 11.6% followed by Lithuania (10.8%) and Latvia (9.1%).

Farm Gate Milk Price Decrease In November

2012-01-12T15:28:00.000Z

The UK average price of a litre of milk in November 2011 was 29.3p, compared with 3.13p/l in November 2010. The average butterfat content was 4.17% and the average protein content was 3.33% compared with 4.11% and 3.36% respectively in 2010.

MUICP Estimated At 2.8% In December 2011

2012-01-12T15:26:00.002Z

The rate of inflation for the euro area for December 2011 was estimated to be 2.8% according to Eurostat's flash estimated published recently. In November it was 3%.

Service Sector Growth In October

2011-12-23T17:07:00.000Z

The services index published by the ONS showed that the sector grew by 1.1% in October 2011 compared with 2010. The sector output decreased between September and October 2011 by 0.7%. Three of the four main components of the index grew with government services increasing by 2.3%. Business services and finance increased by 1.5% compared with October 2010.

Public Sector Finances Improvement In November

2011-12-23T17:03:00.002Z

Public sector net borrowing fell by £2.3bn to £18.1bn in November 2011 compared with November 2010. Net debt was £977.1bn. The current budget deficit was £1.7bn lower at £15.7bn

Euro Trade Surplus EU27 Deficit With Rest Of The World

2011-12-16T14:58:00.000Z

Euro area trade with the rest of the world in October 2011 recorded a surplus of 1.1 bn euros, compared with 3.1 bn euros in October 2010. In October 2011 compared with September 2011, exports fell by 1.9% and imports by 0.7%.

The EU27 trade balance with the rest of the world showed a 11.0 bn euro deficit, compared with a 9.6 bn deficit in October 2010. In September 2011 the balance was -10.6 bn euros compared with -13.9 bn euros in September 2010. In October compared with September 2011, exports decreased by 0.7%, while imports increased by 0.5% (from Eurostat).

UK Inflation Highest In Europe

2011-12-16T14:52:00.001Z

Euro area annual inflation was unchanged from October at 3% in November. Monthly inflation was 0.1%. EU annual inflation was also unchanged from October at 3.4%. Monthly inflation was 0.2%.

The lowest annual rates among member states were in Sweden (1.1%), Malta (1.5%) and Ireland (1.7%). The highest inflation rates in November were in Slovenia and the UK (both 4.8%).

Industrial Production In Europe In October

2011-12-15T15:51:00.000Z

Industrial production fell in Europe during October. The industrial production index fell in 14 EU countries and rose in 8, remaining stable in France in October 2011 compared with September. The industrial production index fell by 0.1% in the euro zone and by 0.2% in the EU27. Over the year from October 2010 to October 2011, industrial production increased by 1.3% in both areas.

Number of Unemployed Reaches 2.64m

2011-12-15T15:48:00.001Z

The unemployment rate reached 8.3% in November 2011, up 0.4% on the quarter. The last time it was higher was January 1996. The total number of unemployed people reached 2.64m, the highest number since September 1994. The unemployment level for the 16 to 24 age group at 22% is the highest since records began. The number of unemployed people in that age group has risen to 1.03m. Data from the years before these records began show that the level of youth unemployment was higher in the 1980s.

Total pay rose by 2% on last year. Regular pay (excluding bonuses) rose by 1.8% on the year. Output per worker was unchanged. Unit labour costs increased by 0.3%. Actual hours worked per week was 918m and average weekly hours worked increased by 0.2% to 31.6. There were 455,000 vacancies in the three months to November, or 1.7 vacancies for 100 employee jobs.

Inflation Down to 4.8% In November

2011-12-15T15:45:00.001Z

Inflation fell to 4.8% in November from the 5% figure of October. The index number is 121.2 (2005=100). RPI stands at 5.2%. Food, petrol, clothing and furniture household and equipment and maintenance provided the largest downward pressure. Domestic heating and off sales of alcohol provided upward pressure to the CPI. While upward pressure came from the same sectors as the CPI, downward pressure on the RPI came from wines and spirits off sales and fuel and light.

Trade Deficit Narrowed To £1.6bn In October

2011-12-09T13:15:00.000Z

The seasonally adjusted trade in goods and services deficit was £1.6bn in October down from £4.3bn in September according to the ONS. It is the smallest deficit since April.

The deficit on trade in goods amounted to £7.6bn and the surplus on trade in services amounted £6bn. Exports rose to a record £26.5bn and imports fell from the record £34.6bn in September to £34.1bn in October. Both import and export prices fell in October by 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.

There was a £2.1bn increase in exports of goods to both EU (£13.9bn) and non-EU (£12.6bn) countries.

The biggest changes in key commodity value between September and October were in exports of chemicals (+£596m) and capital goods (+£327) and imports of oil (+£276m). Consumer goods other than cars had the biggest downward change (-£246).

Producer Prices Rise By 5.4%

2011-12-09T12:57:00.000Z

The output price for home sales of manufactured products rose 5.4 per cent in the year to November 2011 according to the latest statistical bulletin on producer prices from the ONS. The output price index excluding food, beverages, tobacco and petroleum rose 3.2 per cent.

The total input price index rose 13.4 per cent, the lowest annual rate since December 2010, when the index rose 13.1 per cent. The total input price index excluding food, beverages and tobacco rose 10% over the year.

The output index for home sales of manufactured products rose 0.2 per cent and the total input price index rose 0.1 per cent between October and November. There were price increases in petrol products, tobacco and alcohol and chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Business Services Drive Up Services Index

2011-11-25T15:40:00.000Z

The index of services (seasonally adjusted) increased by 1.2% in September 2011 compared with a year earlier. Business services and finance increased by 1.5% ands accounted for 38% of services, government and other services increased by 1.6% and accounted for 29%, distribution, hotels and restaurants which accounts for 18% remained unchanged and transport, storage and communication increased by 1.5% and accounted for the other 15% of services.

Manufacturing Keeps Up Investment

2011-11-25T15:39:00.000Z

Manufacturing investment increased by 15.7% over the quarter and by 31.7% over the year to Q3 2011 according to the latest business investment bulletin from the ONS.

Total business investment actually fell by 1.4% to £30.2bn over the previous quarter. Non-manufacturing investment fell by 3.4% over the quarter. Business investment rose over the quarter by 0.3%.

The increase in overall manufacturing was mainly due to an increase of 66.9% in metal goods, 61.8% in other manufacturing and 21.8% in engineering and vehicles in private sector manufacturing which increased by 15.7% to £3.7bn. The fall in investment was mainly due to the a in private sector non-manufacturing which fell 4.4% to £25.4bn.

GDP Grows By 0.5% In Q3

2011-11-25T15:37:00.000Z

The second estimate of GDP for the third quarter of 2011 was published by the ONS recently. The headline figure for GDP in Q3 2011 increased by 0.5%.

Analyzed by output, the production industries rose by 0.4% compared with a fall of 1.2% in Q2, mining and quarrying increased by 0.4% and manufacturing output rose by 0.2%. According to the income analysis GDP at current market prices rose by 1.5% and compensation of employees increased by 1.2%. The expenditure analysis suggests that GDP increased by 0.9% in Q3. Household final consumption expenditure remained unchanged. The level of household expenditure is 1.5% lower than Q3 2010.

Industrial New Orders Down By 6.4% In EA17

2011-11-23T15:41:00.001Z

The index for industrial new orders for the euro area fell by 6.4% in September 2011 compared with August according to Eurostat. In the EU27 the index fell by 2.3%. If the more volatile sectors are excluded the falls were 4.3% in the euro area and 2.1% in the EU27. The annual comparison however recorded increases of 1.6% in the euro area and 2.3% in the EU27 in September 2011.

Central Government Borrowing Down In October

2011-11-23T15:40:00.000Z

Provisional estimates for public sector net borrowing put the borrowing figure for October at £6.5bn. Borrowing in the same period last year was £7.7bn. The net debt stands at £966.6bn or 62.3% of GDP which is an increase on 2010 when net debt was £836.8bn, 56.5% of GDP. The current budget was £4.5bn in deficit, £0.2bn down on the previous quarter.

Borrowing by central government actually fell by £1.2bn from £7.2bn to £6bn whereas local government borrowing increased from £0.7bn to £1.3bn.

Services Prices Up In Q3

2011-11-23T15:38:00.000Z

The net sector aggregate of selected services producer prices indices 12 month inflation figure rose by 2.4% in the third quarter of 2011 and the gross sector aggregate also rose by 2% according to the latest statistical bulletin from the ONS. The net sector aggregate fell 0.1% between the second and third quarters and the gross aggregate by 0.2%. The 0.1% fall reflects decreases in prices in freight forwarding, advertising placement and sea and coastal water freight.

The services PPI (formerly the Corporate Services Price Index or CSPI) measures changes in the prices of services provided by UK businesses to other UK businesses and government.

An Increase In Agricultural Price Indices In September

2011-11-18T15:30:00.000Z

The index of prices received by producers for the total of all agricultural products for September 2011 was 165.7, up from 159.2 in August.

The index of prices paid by producers for the total of all means of agricultural production for September 2011 was 153.1, up from 153.0 in August. The slight increase in purchase prices being covered by the larger increase in production prices. There was an increase in the price of fuel. Confidence is returning to cereals markets after fears of bad harvest weather subsided and prices retruned to normal after increasing earlier in the year. Potato prices started well this year as bad weather reduced availability. News of adequate harvests reduced fears and prices came down again.

Milk prices have increased steadily over the last 18 months with good demand and supply ensuring a good market. Good market conditions also apply to the beef market. Sheep and lamb prices have been sustained but prime prices are beginning to tail off.

Internet Users Increase To 82.9%

2011-11-18T15:28:00.000Z

The number of people in UK who have ever used the Internet increased to 41.62m adults in Q3 2011, equivalent to 82.9% of the adult population. The remainder were the 8.43m adults or 16.8% of the population who have never used the Internet.

Socio-economic and demographic characteristics are linked to Internet use. Age, disability, location and earnings are example characteristics of Internet users. The never using the Internet include the over 65s, the disabled and the widowed.

The largest proportion of users according to age were the youngest aged 16-24 at 98.6%. The over 75s group decreased in its number of non-users from 76.3% to 72.4%. There were 4.25m disabled adults who had never used the Internet (over half of the total non-users).

As regards earnings the proportion of Internet non-users declines with successive weekly pay bands. Those on less than £200/week had the most non-users at 8.3%. There were no Internet non-users among those paid over £1,000/week.

Unemployment Rate 8.3%

2011-11-18T15:25:00.002Z

The unemployment reached the highest it has been since 1996 at 8.3% or 2.62m people, an increase of 129,000 on the quarter. The 2.62m figure is the highest since 1994.

There were 29.07m people in employment aged 16 and over, a decrease of 197,000 on the quarter. There were 31.16m workforce jobs in June 2011, down 102,000 on the quarter. Workforce jobs measured jobs filled. It differs from the employment figure because some people have more than one job.

The number of redundancies fell by 7,000 to 147,000 over the three months before the survey. The redundancy rate was 5.9/1,000. The number of vacancies increased by 7,000 to 462,000 in the three months to October 2011. There were 1.8 jobs to every 100 employee jobs during that period.

Retail Sales Up In October

2011-11-17T15:49:00.001Z

The value and volume of retail sales increased in October 2011 according to the retail sales survey carried out by the ONS. The value of retail sales in October 2011 showed an increase of 5.4 per cent compared with October 2010 and sales volumes in October 2011 increased by 0.9 per cent compared to October 2010.

Food stores volumes increased for the first time since April. The average amount spent weekly on online retailing increased to £561.5m up from £518.7m in September 2011

Producer Prices For October

2011-11-11T15:28:00.000Z

The producer price index for October was published recently by the ONS. The survey suggests that in the year to October the factory gate prices for sales of manufactured products increased by 5.7%. The index excluding food, beverages and tobacco rose by 3.4%. Over the month between September and October the index remained unchanged. The input price index rose by 14.1% on the annual comparison and fell by 0.8% on the monthly comparison.

Transport Helps Manufacturing Increase By 2%

2011-11-08T15:29:00.000Z

The index of production published by the ONS fell by 0.7% in September 2011 compared with September 2010. The manufacturing index rose by 2.0%, increasing in 8 of the 13 sub-sectors and falling in 5. The transport equipment industries contributed the most to the increase, the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers making the biggest contribution within the sub-sector.

In the monthly comparison between August and September 2011, production remained unchanged with manufacturing rising by 0.2%. The index of production rose by 0.4 per cent in Q3 2011.

September Retail Trade Down In Europe

2011-11-08T15:17:00.000Z

The volume of retail trade in Europe fell in both the euro zone and the EU in general in September when compared with August 2011. The year on year retail sales index also fell in both areas.

Volume fell by 0.7% in the euro area and 0.3% in the EU27 during the month between August and September. The non-food sector fell by 0.8% in the euro area and 0.9% in the EU while food, drink and tobacco remained unchanged in the euro area and rose by 0.1% in the EU27. The total retail trade index fell in 11 of the member states and rose in 8. The highest decreases were in Portugal (-3.7%), Slovenia (-2.1%) and Spain (-1.7%) and the largest increases were in Poland (2.4%), UK (1%) and Latvia (0.9%).

The index fell by 1.5% in the euro area and 0.8% in the EU27 when comparing 2010 and 2011. The food category fell by 0.5% in the euro area and 0.4% in the EU as a whole. The non-food sector fell by 1.9% and 0.8% respectively. The highest decreases were in Malta (-7.5%), Portugal (-6.2%) and Spain (-5.8%). The highest increases were in Lithuania (10.6%), Luxembourg (8.3%) and Latvia (8.1%).

Inflation In The OECD Continues To Rise In September

2011-11-08T15:14:00.000Z

Consumer prices in the OECD countries continued to rise in September by 3.3% after a 3.2% increase in August. It is the highest rate since October 2008. The 5.2% rise in inflation in the UK in September was mainly due to the 18.1% rise in energy prices in September after a 12.3% rise in August. It is back to the peak of September 2008, the highest since records began in January 1997. Consumer price inflation also increased in Italy (3%), Germany (2.6%), the US (3.9%) and Canada (3.2%). In France prices remained stable but in Japan prices fell by 0.2% to 0%. In Europe, the HICP increased to 3%.

Fall In Successful Loan Applications

2011-10-28T15:10:00.000+01:00

There has been a decline in the percentage of success rates of businesses applying for loans from banks. In 2007 90% of loan applications to banks were successful but in 2010 there was a fall to 65% of successful loan applications. The percentage of SMEs looking for finance increased from 35% in 2007 to 42% in 2010. A majority of three quarters of businesses went to banks when looking for loans and five out of six businesses expect to apply to banks when looking for loans in future.

The main reason for refusal of loan finance was given as a lack of collateral or a lack of own capital. Poor credit rating became the most notable reason among other lenders in 2010 whereas in 2007 reasons were more sparse. In the few cases where the failure to get finance was becuase of a refusal on the part of the applicant high interest rates were less of a problem in 2010 than in 2007. This is partly due to the fact that in 2007 the Bank of England base rate was over 5% but in 2010 the base rate was held at 0.5%.

The economic outlook was given as the main limiting factor for business growth. Price competition and small margins were also among the main reasons given along with limited demand in domestic markets.

Directors See Huge Pay Rises

2011-10-28T15:09:00.001+01:00

Directors of FTSE-100 companies saw their total remuneration increase by an average of 55% in 2010 with Chief Executives taking home an average of £4.9m in total earnings. Total board pay in the FTSE-350 as a whole increased by an average of 45% according to the latest Directors Pay Report by Incomes Data Services. There is a risk that the attitude of getting back to 'business as usual' so soon after the 3.6% increases of the previous year will upset shareholders.

Business Confidence In Europe Shows Mixed Picture

2011-10-28T14:59:00.000+01:00

Business confidence surveys in Europe show that economic sentiment (ESI) has remained broadly unchanged in the EU as a whole and in the euro area at respective levels of 93.8 and 94.8. There are mixed signals in the underlying data. Declines in industry and among consumers were offset by increases in retail, services and construction in EU27 and in construction and services in the euro area. While the economic sentiment results are unchanged the business climate survey (BCI) recorded a continued fall. The steady fall over the last eight months suggests a significant slowdown in production growth.

Farm Gate Price Of Milk Increase Of 2.79p/litre In September

2011-10-28T14:56:00.000+01:00

The latest milk prices release from Defra shows that the farm gate price of milk increased by 2.79p to 28.03p/litre in September. The average butterfat content was 4.09% and the protein content was 3.31% compared with 3.92% and 3.33% respectively in September 2010.

Cereals Farmers See Big Rise In Incomes

2011-10-28T14:55:00.000+01:00

The Farm Business Survey results show that income figures have substantially increased in the year ending February 2011. In 2010/11, incomes increased on arable and mixed farms and a smaller increase on dairy farms. However, average incomes fell on beef, sheep and pig farms. Significant variations in incomes exist within the sectors.

Mixed farms saw an increase of 57% while cereals farms increased their incomes by 107%. General cropping farms increases were 80%. The average increase across all types was 33%. In real terms it means a 97% increase for cereal farms, 72% for general cropping farms and a 49% increase for mixed farms.

Over half of cereal, general cropping and dairy farms had an income over £50,000 and a third over £75,000 but more than 15% of LFA and lowland grazing farms didn't make any profit at all and approximately 60% had incomes of less than £20,000. Different farms are influenced by a variety of different factors including size, location and soil type. The variation in incomes also reflects the differences in production costs.

Household Saving Up On Last Quarter

2011-10-28T14:52:00.000+01:00

The quarterly national accounts version of GDP show that household saving increased from 5.9% in the first quarter of 2011 to 7.4% in Q2. The household saving ratio over the year however fell slightly from 7.8% to 7.5%. Real household income rose by 1.2% after a fall of 1.7% in quarter one. Disposable income rose by 0.1% in 2010 after an increase of 1.6% in 2009.

Current Account Deficit Reduced To £2bn

2011-10-28T14:51:00.000+01:00

The ONS recently published the latest balance of payments data for the UK. The current account deficit in Q2 2011 was £2bn down from £4.1bn in Q1. The total trade deficit increased from £5.8bn in Q1 to £6.8bn in Q2 2011. The UK recorded net international investment liabilities of £115bn.

The capital account showed a surplus of £1bn, up £0.3bn from Q1. The current transfers deficit decreased to £4.8bn, a fall of £0.9bn, due mainly to lower payments by the government. Payments to EU contributions can be erratic.

The trade in goods deficit increased to £24.6bn in Q2 2011 from £22.8bn in Q1. Exports fell by £1.2bn while imports increased by £0.6bn to a record £98.4bn. Trade in services also saw a new record in Q2. The surplus on trade in services grew to £17.8bn. Exports grew by £1.5bn to another record £46.1bn.

There was a net outflow of £9bn compared with a net outflow of £3.5bn in the previous quarter. Overseas investment fell to £42.7bn from £160.1bn and investment flowing into the UK in Q2 was £33.8bn down from £156.6bn in Q1.

European Industries See Increase In New Orders

2011-10-24T15:04:00.001+01:00

European industries experienced an increase in new orders in August 2011 compared with July and with August 2010. The euro area index rose by 1.9% on the month and 6.2% over the year. The EU27 increases were 0.4% over the month and 6.5% over the year.

New orders for capital goods increased 2.7% in the euro area between July and August and 1.1% in EU27, non-durables increased 1.2% and 0.5% respectively, durable consumer goods fell by 0.8% and 1.8%. Intermediate goods orders grew by 1.1% in both zones. Durable consumer goods orders also fell on the annual comparison, 3.1% in the euro area and 8.4% in EU27. Capital goods orders rose by 7.8% in the euro area and 8.2% in the EU27 and intermediate goods orders by 6.1% and 6.9% respectively.

Global FDI Rises But Financial Turmoil Slows Growth

2011-10-24T15:03:00.001+01:00

Inflows of global foreign direct investment (FDI) rose by 2% in the first half of 2011 compared with the second half of 2010 according to the latest Global Investment Trends Monitor released by UNCTAD. The increase maintains the 5% moderate recovery of 2010.

The effects of the financial crisis however are precipitating a slowing down of growth in FDI according to preliminary estimates of cross-border mergers and acquisitions and greenfield investment. The outlook is predicted to remain optimistic with FDI flows expected to be close to pre-crisis levels over the next twelve months. The emphasis on crisis management is making policy makers more cautious diverting attention away from the need for more private investment to generate growth and jobs.

In the first half of 2011 more than half of global FDI was directed towards developing and transition economies as transnational corporations are still directing their investment to emerging markets. Developed economies experienced a 4% decline in FDI in the first half of 2011.

Government Borrowing Down £1.3bn

2011-10-21T14:02:00.001+01:00

The current budget deficit for September 2011 was £11.9bn (excluding temporary effects of financial intervention), £0.9bn lower than 2010 according to the ONS. Net borrowing was £14.1bn also lower than in September 2010 when it was £15.4bn. Net debt £966.8bn or 62.6% of GDP compared with £833bn in September 2010. Central government net cash requirement in September 2011 was £2.1bn lower than last year at £23bn.

September Sales Up On Last Year

2011-10-21T13:59:00.000+01:00

The value of retail sales on Britain's High Streets increased by 5.4% in September compared with last year according to a statistical bulletin released by the ONS. Volumes also increased, by 0.6%, compared with September 2010.

The monthly figures show an increase in both value and volume of 0.8% and 0.6% respectively, but although sales value increased in the last three months compared with the previous three months, the volume of sales decreased by 0.2%.

Automotive fuel increased by 20% year on year contributing 2% to the overall retail sales percentage points while predominantly food stores sales volumes fell by 0.3% but values increased by 5.7% contributing 2.4% to overall growth. Non-store retailing (including the Internet) increased 15.6% contributing 0.8%. The estimated value of Internet retail sales was £539.4m, approximately 9.6% of total retail sales.

CPI Highest Ever

2011-10-18T13:58:00.000+01:00

CPI annual inflation reached 5.2% in September 2011 up from 4.5% in August according to the ONS. It is the highest CPI inflation has ever been since records began in January 1997. It was also 5.2% in September 2008. RPI, an alternative measure of inflation reached 5.6%.

The biggest upward pressure came from increases in prices for energy products gas and electricity. Upward pressure also came from air transport and communications services. Clothing contributed the main downward pressure.

Housing and household services increased by 8.6% compared with 5.1% last month. Restaurants and hotels annual rate was 4.7% compared with 4.6% last month. It is the highest ever for the sector.

Unemployment Highest Since 1990s

2011-10-14T13:45:00.000+01:00

The latest labout market statistics from the ONS show that the unemployment rate was 8.1% and the employment rate was 70.4%. Inactivity was 23.3%. The total number of unemployed people reached 2.57m, the highest since October 1994. The unemployment rate for people aged 16-24 reached 21.3%, the highest since records began in 1992.

Services Trade Surplus Still Rising

2011-10-14T13:44:00.000+01:00

The deficit on UK trade in goods and services fell to £1.9bn in August. The goods deficit fell to £7.8bn but the services trade surplus increased to £5.9bn. The volume of exports increased by 1.3%. Both import and export prices fell by 0.5% and 1.5% respectively.

Agricultural Prices Squeezed In August

2011-10-14T13:42:00.000+01:00

Defra released the latest agricultural prices index statistics yesterday. The monthly series shows that the index of producer prices for the total of all products fell 1.3 points from 160.3 points in July 2011 to 159 points in August. The monthly index of the purchase prices for all means of agricultural production increased by 0.7 points from 152.3 to 153 points.

The annual series shows that the index of producer prices for all means of agricultural production increased by 5.7 points from 129.9 to 135.6 points between 2009 and 2010. The index of producer prices for the total of all products increased between 2009 and 2010 from 136 points to 144.4 points, an increase of 8.4 points over the year.

Manufacturing Up But Fall In Overall Production

2011-10-14T13:39:00.000+01:00

The latest Index of Production (IOP), recently published by the ONS, fell by 1.0 per cent in August 2011 compared to August 2010. The Index of Manufacturing, within the IOP, rose by 1.5 per cent in August 2011 compared to August 2010. Production between July and August rose by 0.2 per cent, with manufacturing falling by 0.3 per cent. This months release was the first to be based on the new UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).

Sector C, the manufacturing sector, contributed the largest percentage of production with 66.6%. The 1.5% increase was due to a 4.8% increase in the production of food, beverages and tobacco. Over the month food, beveages and tobacco increased by 1% with alcoholic beverages contributing a 2.9% rise. Mining and quarrying (Sector B), contributed 16.4%. Sector D, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning contributed 9.3%.

Animal Feed Production In August Down On Last Year

2011-10-07T15:49:00.000+01:00

The total British animal feed product for August was down 2.9% when compared with August 2010. Raw material usage was down 2.8% and integrated feed production was down 1.8%.

Quarterly average animal feed prices stood at £219/tonne for cattle and calf feed, £260/tonne for pig feed and £216/tonne for sheep feed for the period April to June 2011.

Fall In Wheat Usage, Barley Usage Up

2011-10-07T15:48:00.000+01:00

There was a 7% fall in the amount of wheat milled in August 2011 from 511,000 tonnes to 475,000 tonnes. The total amount of flour milled fell by 6.5% in total. The amount of bread flour, cake flour and household flour both increased. Biscuit making flour fell by 0.8%.

Brewers, maltsters and distillers used 149,600 tonnes of barley in August, up 10.5% on the 135,300 tonnes in August 2010. Malting barley accounted for 142,500 tonnes, up 11.5%.

Oats usage was up 2.6% from 111,500 tonnes to 114,400 tonnes. Oats were mainly used for flakes, rolled oats and flour.

August Retail Slightly Down On July

2011-10-07T15:46:00.000+01:00

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, says that the volume of retail trade fell by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU27 in August 2011 compared with July. Comparing August 2011 with August 2010 the retail sales index fell by 1% in the euro area and 0.8% in the EU27.

The food sector increased by 0.1% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27 in August compared with JUly. The non-food sector increased by 0.6% in both zones. Year on year, both sectors fell. The food sector fell by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU27 and the non-food sector fell by 1.3% and 0.7% respectively.

Fall In Household Consumption

2011-10-07T15:45:00.000+01:00

Household final consumption expenditure fell by 0.8% during the second quarter of 2011.

The biggest contributions to the negative growth were from the transport and food sectors. Positive contributions came from clothing and footwear and miscellaneous.

Business Survey Estimates Fall In Number Of Jobs

2011-10-04T14:35:00.000+01:00

The Business Register and Employment Survey estimates that for September 2010 there were 26.8m employees, down 134,000 on 2009. Tha largest fall among the countries of the UK was in Scotland at 73,000.

The region with the most employees was London with 4.1m (15.3% of UK employees) next came the South East with 3.7m (13.8%). London also had the highest proportion of full-time employees at 74.1%. Other regions had less than 70%. The regions with the lowest number of employees were Northern Ireland with 705,000 (2.6%) and the North East with 999,000 (3.7%) with over a third part-time.

In the UK as a whole, there were 18.1m full-time and 8.7m part-time employees. The health sector continued to have the largest number of employees with 3.6m. The industry with the lowest number of employees was agriculture, forestry and fishing with 214,000 (0.8%). Construction employment decreased the most down 118,000 employees. Mining, quarrying and utilities had the largest proportion of full-time workers at 93.3%. The retail sector had the largest proportion of part-time workers at 57.2%. Business administration and support services grew by 62,000.

MUICP Of 3% Expected In September

2011-10-04T14:31:00.000+01:00

Euro area inflation, measured by the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices, is expected to be 3% in September 2011 according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the Eurpean Union's statistical office.

Farm Gate Price Of Milk Up By 2.84p/litre In August

2011-10-04T14:29:00.000+01:00

The UK average farm gate price of milk increased by 2.84 p/litre to 27.54p/litre in August 2011 compared to August 2010. The average butterfat content was 4% compared with 3.85% in August last year and 3.92 in July and the average protein content was the same as last year at 3.25% but higher than the 3.23% of July. The farm gate milk price in July was 27.2p/litre (Prices exclude retrospective bonus payments made by purchasers).

Borrowing Continues To Increase

2011-09-23T14:45:00.000+01:00

Net borrowing, excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions, was £15.9bn in August 2011, an increase of £1.9bn on last year according to data from the ONS. Public sector net investment (PSNI) was £2.1bn and public sector current budget (PSCB) deficit was £13.8bn.

The current budget deficit, excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions, was £13.8bn in August 2011, an increase of £2.2bn on 2010. Over the last three months the budget deficit has decreased from £44.5bn to £43.5bn.

Net debt (PSND), excluding the temporary effects of financial interventions, was £944.5bn, equivalent to 61.4% of GDP from £810.5bn or 55.3% GDP.

The public sector net borrowing figure of £15.9bn can also be arrived at by a calculation using data relating to central and local government borrowing. Central goverment borrowing was £14.7bn, local government borrowing was £1.5bn and public corporations borrowing was a negative figure of £0.3bn. Central government net cash requirement increased by £4.9bn from £5.8bn to £10.7bn.

Falls In UK Productivity Levels

2011-09-23T14:41:00.000+01:00

Productivity per worker in the UK fell relative to all G7 countries except Italy and Germany in 2010, but it was above that of Japan and similar to Canada. The productivity gap between the UK and the US is the biggest since 1994. All G7 countries have seen an increase in GDP per worker and GDP per hour between 2009 and 2010. UK productivity was lower than the G7 average on both measures. GDP per worker was lower than in France, Italy and the US (the highest in G7).

All G7 countries experienced productivity growth in GDP per hour worked in 2010. In the UK growth was the result of a combination of a fall in actual hours worked and an increase in GDP. While the UK experienced a fall in hours worked per worker between 2009 and 2010 other countries saw a reduction in total hours as a result of lower employment.

The US saw the largest growth in GDP per worker of the G7 countries. The UK previously a fast growth country saw falls similar to those in Canada, France and Germany due to employment falling more slowly than GDP.

UK Companies Spending Big Abroad

2011-09-09T14:39:00.000+01:00

UK companies expenditure on acquisitions abroad in Q2 2011 reached its second highest since Q1 2008 spending total of £10.2bn even though it represents a fall of 51% from £20.7bn. The 6 month figure of over £30bn is also above any 6 monthly period in 2009 or 2010. The number of acquisitions fell from 58 to 41.

The number of inward acquisitions increased from 43 to 46 and to a value of £8.5bn in the second quarter. The value of domestic acquisitions rose from £1.3bn in Q1 to £2.2bn in Q2 2011. The number of acquisitions fell from 68 to 59.

The largest transaction abroad by a UK company was the acquisition of Pride International of the USA by Ensco Plc for about £4.6bn. The acquisition of Netto Foodstores by Wal-Mart Stores Inc for £778m was a significant transaction in the Uk by the US company. Boparan Holdings acquisition of Northern Foods for £343m and Carillion acquisition of EAGA Plc for £298m were other significant transactions in the UK by UK companies.

The data is often affected by one or two very large transactions which may skew the trends underlying the data.

Business Confidence Continues To Fall Across Europe In August

2011-09-09T14:36:00.000+01:00

The Busines Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area fell for the sixth month in a row in August 2011 from 0.44 to 0.07. It reflects pessimism among managers about order books and export order books. Production expectations and observation of production trends also contributed to the low feeling. Stocks appraisals are recovering from historic lows.

The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) fell to 97.3 in the EU and to 98.3 in the euro area. Loss of confidence was particularly marked in services, retail trade and in the consumer confidence indicator.

GDP In Europe Increased By 0.2% In Q2 2011

2011-09-09T14:35:00.000+01:00

There was an increase of 0.2% in GDP in both the euro area and the EU27 in the second quarter of 2011 compared with the first quarter according to a statistical news release from Eurostat the statistical office of the European Union. Growth rates in the first quarter were 1.8% in the euro area and 0.7% in the EU27. On a yearly basis, the second quarter results increased by 1.6% in the euro area and 1.7% in the EU27.

Household expenditure decreased by 0.2% after growing by 0.2% in the previous quarter and decreased by 0.1% in the EU27. Gross fixed capital formation, exports and imports all grew during the second quarter.

Qualifications And Earnings Link Still There

2011-08-26T14:38:00.000+01:00

People with the highest qualifications are still earning more according to data from the Labour Force Survey carried out by the ONS. The pay gap is lower comparing those educated to GCSE or equivalent with those educated to a higher level in 2010 than in 1993. Employees with a minimum of a degree earned 85% more (95% in 1993), with higher education qualifications (not a degree) earned 45% more (54% in 1993) and those with 'A' level or equivalent 15% more (18% in 1993). The pay gap with those with no formal educational qualifications remained fairly stable at about 20% less than those with GCSEs. The increase in the number of people with degrees has had an impact on the kinds of jobs the group performs and means that they are now more likely to work in lower skilled jobs.

The survey covers people aged between 22-64 as most people have finished their formal education by this time. People with GCSEs increased from 17% to 20% between 1993 and 2010. The percentage of people with a degree increased from 12% in 1993 to 25% in 2010, more than double. The number of people with no formal qualification has fallen from 25% in 1993 to 11% in 2010.

SPPI Up 2.4%

2011-08-26T14:36:00.000+01:00

The services producer prices index (net aggregate) rose by 2.4% in Q2 2011 compared with Q2 2010 according to ONS. Growth between Q1 and Q2 2011 was 0.9%.

The biggest price increases contributing to the quarter on previous quarter percentage changes were made by advertising placement and sewerage services with 0.33% and freight transport by road offset by a fall in prices for freight forwarding.

Services Output Increased 1.6% Over the Year

2011-08-26T14:34:00.000+01:00

The index of services published by the ONS increased by 1.6% in June 2011 compared with June 2010. There was an increase in all components.

The largest contribution was made by business services and finance which rose by 1.6%, its highest increase since October 2010. Hotels and restaurants increased by 3.6%, the highest since February 2008, transport, storage and communication by 3.4% and government and other services by 1.2%.

Output in the services sector fell by 0.1% over the month between May and June 2011. While output grew in hotels and restaurants by 2% and government and other services by 0.2%, it remained as it was in business services and finance and fell by 1.6% in transport, storage and other services and by 0.7% in distribution.

European INOs Increase 11.1% On 2010

2011-08-26T14:32:00.000+01:00

Industrial new orders increased by 11.1% in June 2011 compared with 2010 in the euro area and 8.5% in the EU27 according to a statistical bulletin from Eurostat, the EU statistics office (excluding volatile sectors the index rose by 7.9% in the euro area and 6.3% in the EU27).

In June compared with May however the index fell by 0.7% in the euro area and 0.3%. The volatile sectors such as ships, railway and aerospace equipment can skew the index considerably and when they are excluded new orders fell by 3% in the euro area and 2.2% in the EU27.

OIE Measure Of GDP Up 0.2% In Q2

2011-08-26T14:30:00.000+01:00

The chained volume measure of GDP increased by 0.2% in Q2 2011 according to the latest statistical bulleting from the ONS. Output in the construction and services sectors increased by 0.5%. Output in the production industries decreased by 1.6%. Output in Q2 2011 increased by 0.7% compared with Q2 2010. Quarter on quarter percentage growth in output in agriculture fell by 1.3% and total production by 1.6%.

Year on year growth to 2010 in construction increased by 7.1%, the production industries by 2.1% and services by 1.1%. Agriculture fell by 3.5%.

Factory Gate Prices Up 5.9%

2011-08-05T15:26:00.000+01:00

The output price index for UK manufactured goods according to the ONS producer price index bulletin for July 2011 increased by 5.9% over the year compared with 5.7% last month. The index for July compared with June rose by 0.2% mainly due to price rises in food and clothing, textiles and leather goods.

The output price index excluding volatile products like food and beverages rose 3.3%. The index excluding excise duty rose 6%.

Input prices rose by 18.5%. Manufacturing excluding food and beverages rose 13.1% over the year to July. Between June and July the total index increased by 0.6% mainly due to price increases for crude oil and other imported materials. The total price of imported materials rose by 1.3% between June and July.

Euro Area Trade In Balance

2011-07-15T15:37:00.000+01:00

The first estimate from Eurostat for euro area trade with the rest of the world in May 2011 was in balance. There was a deficit of 4.9bn euros for the same period last year. In April 2011 the deficit was 4.8bn euros. The EU27 is estimated to have had a deficit of 13.2bn euros in May 2011 compared with -16bn euros in May 2010. The April balance was a 16.4bn euros deficit in 2011 compared with 12bn euros deficit in 2010. The euro area's main trading partners between January and April 2011 in euro terms were the United States, United Kingdom and China. Russia saw a 33% growth in imports from EU17. The main trading partners with the EU27 were the United States and China.

Inflation Down To 4.2%

2011-07-12T12:19:00.001+01:00

The latest bulletin from the ONS on consumer inflation says that annual inflation has fallen to 4.2% in June 2011 from 4.5% in May. The government target is 2%. Recreaton and culture provided the main downward pressure for the decrease. In particular games, toys and hobbies were the main contributor along with pressure from audio visual equipment price discounting. Upward pressure came from a variety of food products.

The CPI fell by 0.1% between May and June 2011 due mainly to downward pressure from recreation and culture particularly computer games, photographic equipment, data processing equipment, recording equipment and books and also from clothing and footwear as some summer sales began in women's fashion. Upward pressure came from food and drink mainly bread and cereals, meat and milk, cheese and eggs. Mineral waters, soft drinks and juices helped to offset the increase. The RPI stands at 5% in June.

Increase In UK Trade But Deficit Goes Up

2011-07-12T12:12:00.000+01:00

The UK trade balance deficit increased from £3.1bn in April to £4.1bn in May due to a larger increase in imports than exports which also increased in May. The deficit on trade in goods was £8.5bn in May compared with £7.6bn in April and the surplus on trade in services was £4.4bn in May compared with £4.5bn in the previous month. Both the volume of exports and the volume of imports increased in May. Export volume increased by 1.9% and import volume by 6%. Prices of exports fell by 1.7% and the prices of imports fell by 0.4% which meant a decrease in the terms of trade.

Cereal Usage Down In May

2011-07-08T12:43:00.000+01:00

The total amount of wheat milled in May 2011 was 535,000 tonnes, down 0.1%. Brewers, maltsters and distillers usage of wheat was down 7% to 47,000 tonnes. The total amount of barley used by brewers, maltsters and distillers was up by 14% to 153,000 tonnes.

The total amount of oats milled in January to March 2011 compared with the same period in 2010 was up 8% to 120,000 tonnes.

Animal Feed Production Down In May

2011-07-08T12:41:00.001+01:00

The animal feed statistical notice from Defra for May shows that animal feed retail production in May 2011 was down 3.4% compared with May 2010. Raw material usage in the retail production of animal feed was also down 3.3% compared with the same period last year. Total integrated feed production was down 0.1%.

The quarterly average prices of animal feedstuffs for January to March were also included in the bulletin. Cattle and calf feed was on average £207/tonne, pig feed was £250/tonne and sheep feed was £203/tonne.

Production Down By 0.8%

2011-07-08T12:39:00.002+01:00

The index of production produced by the ONS fell 0.8% in May this year compared with May last year. In the month between April and May the index rose by 0.9%. Manufacturing increased by 2.8% in May over the year and by 1.8% over the month between April and May 2011.

The main contribution to the upward movement in manufacturing was a 3.8% increase in the manufacture of machinery and equipment and other machinery which increased by 7.2%.

Factory Gate Prices Up 5.7%

2011-07-08T12:38:00.000+01:00

The producer prices index from the ONS tells us that factory gate prices for home sales of manufactured goods increased 5.7% in the year June compared with 5.4% in May. The price excluding the more volatile sectors such as food, beverages, tobacco and petroleum increased by 3.2%. The output price excluding excise duty increased by 5.8%.

Over ther month between May and June the output price index rose by 0.1%. The increase mainly reflects increases in the prices of food and other manufatures.

Fall In Industrial Producer Prices In EU

2011-07-08T12:37:00.000+01:00

The industrial producer prices index published by Eurostat fell by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27 in May compared with April 2011. When comparing May 2011 with May 2010 the IPP index rose by 6.2% in the euro area and by 78.1% in the EU27.

Energy prices fell by 1.1% in the euro area and 1.3% in EU27 over the month.Non-durables increased by 0.3% in both areas, durables increased by 0.1% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU27. Capital goods also remained stable while intermediate goods increased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27.

Milk Price Rises 2.7p/litre

2011-07-08T12:35:00.000+01:00

The farm gate price of milk increased by 2.7p/litre to 26.34p/litre in May 2011. The average butterfat content of UK milk was 3.91% compared with with 4.02% in April and 3.8% in May 2010 and the average protein content was 3.24% compared with 3.22% in April and 3.27% in May last year.

GDP Growth Unrevised At 0.5%

2011-07-02T13:25:00.001+01:00

The most recent quarterly national accounts show that GDP rose by 0.5% in Q1 2011. In volume terms GDP rose by 1.4%. The household saving ratio fell from 5.1% to 4.6% while household disposable income fell by 0.8%. Agricultural output increased by 0.1%.

Business Investment Down On Quarter Up On Year

2011-07-02T13:22:00.000+01:00

Total business investment fell by 3.2% to £30bn in Q1 2011 compared with Q4 2010. Manufacturing investment fell by 4.4% to £2.8bn on the previous quarter but compared with the same quarter in the previous year increased by 14.8%. Non-manufacturing investment also fell, by 3.1% to £27.3bn but compared with Q1 2010 increased by 1.7%.

Fall In Balance Of Payments Deficit

2011-07-02T13:19:00.000+01:00

The current account reported a deficit of £9.4bn for the first quarter of 2011 equivalent to -2.5% of GDP. The deficit for Q4 2010 was £13bn. There was a deficit of £15bn with the EU compared with £16.9bn in Q4 2010. Trade in goods was -£22.2, trade in services showed a surplus of £13.8bn. Income fell from £7.4bn in Q4 2010 to £4.6bn in Q1 2011. The capital account balance was £0.6bn.

Services Growth 0.8%

2011-07-02T13:15:00.000+01:00

The index of services rose by 0.8% in April 2011 compared with April 2010. Transport, storage and communication services made the largest contribution with an increase of 3.7% within which air transport increased by 23.3%.

Services Productivity Falls While Economy Grows

2011-07-02T13:09:00.000+01:00

Statistics released by the ONS show that whole economy labour productivity in terms of output per worker increased by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2011 compared with the same quarter a year ago while output per hour also increased by 0.3%. Unit wage costs increased by 0.6%. Output per job in the manufacturing sector increased by 4.4%. while in the service sector it fell by 0.5%.

Natural Resources And Environmental Accounts

2011-07-02T13:03:00.000+01:00

The ONS recently published the UK's environmental accounts for 2011 and they are described as satellite accounts to the main national accounts. They provide information on a wide range of things to do with atmospheric emissions, natural resources such as lands cover, oil and gas reserves, forestry, trade in basic materials, physical flows and monetary accounts related to the industrial, commercial and domestic sectors.

The effects of our activity on the environment have been an important policy issue for the last 40-50 years. There is growing concern about the impact of economic activity on both the global and local environment and also recognition that economic growth and human welfare depend on the enviroment. Raw materials and energy for goods and services, the absorption of waste, basic life support roles and amenities such as landscape are all services provided by the environment.

Environmental accounts provide data on the impact of economic activity on the environment, resource use and the taxes and subsidies associted with them and are sepearated into three dimensions: natural resources, physical flows and monetary. Natural resources accounts include oil and gas reserves, land cover and forestry.

Proven oil reserves at the end of 2009 were 378m tonnes. There has been a transfer of 38m tonnes from probable to proven reserves. Maximum oil reserves (proven, probable and possible) decreased by 19m tonnes to 1,111m tonnes in 2009. There are estimated to be hundreds of millions of tonnes of undiscovered recoverable oil reserves. Oil and gas reserves were worth an estimated value of £182.4bn in 2009, down 1.9% since 2008.

Total land cover in Great Britain is 22.6m hectares. Various types of grassland are the habitats that have increased between 1998 and 2007. Changes have also taken place in woodlands which have increased, arable and horticulture, which have decreased and bracken broad habitat which has also decreased.

The total area covered by woodland was 3.1m hectares or 12.7% of UK land area and is the highest since records began. The woodland area at the end of 2010 is 2.5 times tha area covered in 1924 (when records began). The area of new planting and restocking in 2010-11 was 22,700 hectares. Broadleaved species important for the expansion of the area of native woodland was 82% of new planting but only 27% of restocking.

There was an 8.4% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 compared with 2008 bringing the total down by 58.1m tonnes to 636m tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Material productivity is used to assess progress towards sustainable development by dividing GDP by Domestic Material Consumption (DMC). The environmental accounts show that between 1990 and 2009 material productivity increrased and the trend indicates that material use is falling in relation to economic activity and supports evidence that suggests that economic growth has decoupled from material use since 1990. Some of the environmental impacts associated with consumption may have been transferred abroad because the level of imports has generally risen over that period.

OECD Inflation Continues to Increase

2011-06-25T12:10:00.001+01:00

Consumer prices indices for the OECD countries continue to increase. The OECD CPI went up by 2.9% in April 2011 compared with 2.7% in March. Energy prices accounted for much of the increase with a 13.8% rise compared with 12.4% in March.

Inflation accelerated most in the UK with an increase to 4.5% and the US to 3.2%. Germany also experienced an acceleration of inflation to 2.4%. France's inflation rose to 2.1% and Italy's to 2.6%. Canada remained stable at 3.3%. The euro area inflation (HICP) was at 2.8% in May from 2.7% in April.

The latest figures from Eurostat suggest that euro area inflation was back to 2.7% again in May with EU inflation at 3.2%.

OECD CLI Suggest Slow Down In Recovery

2011-06-25T12:08:00.000+01:00

The Composite Leading Indicators (CLIs) published by the OECD for April 2011 suggest a slight loss of momentum in most major economies with the US the exception. Stability in the pace of expansion was suggested in Germany and the UK but France, Italy and Canada show signs of a slowdown. Signs of a slowdown also appear in China, Brazil, India and Russia.

Food Sales In Record Fall

2011-06-25T12:05:00.000+01:00

The value of retail sales increased by 3.8% in May 2011 compared with May 2010 according to a statistical release from the ONS. Sales volume increased by 0.2%. Food sales fell by a record 3.2% in May 2011 compared with April 2011. Prices increased by 3.8% with the highest increases mainly in food stores. Internet sales accounted for 9.4% of all retail sales in May compared with 8.5% in April 2011. The total spent on retail sales during May 2011 was estimated at £25.6bn.

Volume Of Milk 5.6% Up

2011-06-25T12:03:00.001+01:00

The latest release from Defra on milk used by dairies in England and Wales tells us that the intake of raw whole milk was 813m litres, a 5.6% increase on April 2010.

The milk was used for a range of liquid milk and milk products including 346m litres of whole milk and 102m litres of skim milk used for liquid milk and 172m litres of whole milk and 24m litres of skim milk used for cheese production. Milk used in yogurt production was included as part of the 29,434,000 litres of whole milk used to produce yogurt, condensed milk and other dairy products. Over 97m litres of skim milk and nearly 2m litres of cream were also used in the production of yogurt.

The total separated from the total intake for skim milk and cream was 237,891,000 litres leaving the total available 575,471,000 litres.

UK Livestock Slaughter Statistics For May

2011-06-25T12:01:00.000+01:00

The key points in Defra's latest information on slaughterings of cattle, sheep and pigs for May 2011 are that at 170,000 there was a 4% increase in the number of UK prime cattle slaughterings over May 2010. Beef and veal were 7% up on May 2010 with 74,000 tonnes. Sheep slaughterings were also 4% up on last year at 727,000 head. Mutton and lamb were 4% up with 17,000 tonnes. Pigs increased 3% to 718,000 tonnes compared to May 2010. Pigmeat production was 59,000 tonnes, an increase of 3% on May last year.

Increase In Budget Deficit In May

2011-06-24T16:25:00.000+01:00

The UK Government reported a current budget deficit of £15.3bn in May 2011. Net borrowing was £17.4bn and net debt was £920.9bn. These figures exclude the temporary effects of financial intervention. Total receipts were £38bn and total expenditure was £51.7bn. Net investment was £2.7bn after accounting for depreciation of £0.6bn.

API For April 2011

2011-06-24T16:16:00.000+01:00

The agricultural prices index for April published by Defra for prices received by producers for agricultural products for the total of all products in the monthly series in April 2011 was 166.4. To put this index number into some kind of context the index number highest since January 2010 was in March 2011 (last month) at 167.3 and the lowest was in April 2010 with 139.1. The index for purchase prices paid by producers for agricultural inputs in the monthly series for April 2011 was 148.7. The highest index since January 2010 was in January 2011 at 150.0 and January and March were lowest at 130.7.

UK Population Expected To Increase As Baby Boomers Die Out

2011-06-21T12:14:00.000+01:00

The UK is expected to show a strong increase in population between 2010 and 2060 according to a statistical bulletin from Eurostat. Thje EU27 population is expected to increase from 501m in 2010 to 517m in 2060. It is expected to peak at 526m in 2040. Other countries expected to show strong increases are Ireland, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Belgium and Sweden. The population is also expected to older as well as larger with up to 25% of the population of the UK over 65 by 2060. The 'Baby Boom' representative year is 1960 and 2060 the year when most Baby Boomers will have died out.

Urban And Rural Areas Are Interdependent

2011-06-11T12:14:00.003+01:00

Patterns of interdependence seem to be emerging between urban and rural areas where rural dwellers have strategies for overcoming differences. The links they have with urban areas provide them with good standards of living. Some of the key findings of a report in Regional Trends 43 include that unemployment rates are usually lower in rural areas, earnings are higher, a higher proportion have Internet access with 51% in rural areas using banking sites compared with 44% from urban areas and rural households spend more money than urban households.

Other findings are that there are fewer young adults in rural areas but more in their 40s with young children. There is a higher proportion of higher managerial/professional occupations in rural areas and higher proportions with degrees. People in rural areas tend to live longer - on average 2.1 years for males and 1.4 for females. House prices are less affordable for local workers in rural areas than in urban areas.

The industry mix is not so different generally. Agriculture, forestry and fishing account for 15% of all rural businesses and retail a much higher proprtion of urban businesses. Farming accounts for only a small part of the 560,000 business units in rural England. Home working and self-employment in rural areas are far higher than the national average.

Rural England is also divided into 'two countrysides': a large group of well-off, better connected areas; and, a much smaller group of less well-off, sparsely populated, remote areas. Rural, 'less sparse' areas have high levels of household income, all 'sparse' areas have incomes below average, with lower levels of people with degree or equivalent qualifications. 'Less sparse' areas are found mainly around large urban areas and the urban fringe of villages that almost merge into each other and small market towns.

Euro GDP Up By 0.8%

2011-06-11T12:14:00.000+01:00

Both the euro area and the EU27 reported an increase of 0.8% in GDP during the first quarter of 2011 compared with the previous quarter according to the latest Eurostat statistical release on second estimates of GDP. When the first quarter 2011 is compared with the first quarter 2010 GDP increased by 2.5% in both areas.

The household final consumption expenditure component of GDP contributed an increase of 0.3 in the euro area and 0.2 in the EU27. In the USA HFCE rose by 0.5% and in Japan it fell by 0.6%. Gross fixed capital formation grew by 2.1% in the euro area and 1.2% in the EU27.

The total gross value added (GVA) over the previous quarter was 0.8% in the euro area and 0.7% in the EU27 and 2.3% in both areas over the previous year. Agriculture GVA grew by 0.6 over the previous quarter and the previous year. Financial services and business activities GVA increased 0.2 and 0.3 in euro area and EU27 respectively over the quarter and 1.5% and 1.4% respectively over the year.

EU Retail Better In April

2011-06-11T12:13:00.000+01:00

The volume of retail trade in the euro area increased by 0.9% in April 2011 compared wiith March. In the EU27 the increase was 1.1%. The retail sales index increased by 1.1% and 1.9% respectivley. The volume of trade in the UK over the previous month was 1.1% and over the year 4.3%.

Over the month, food, drink and tobacco rose by 0.7% in the euro area and 1.6% in the EU27. In the non-food sector the increases were 0.8% and 1.3% respectivly. The highest increases were in Denmark at 4.3% and the largest decreases were in Malta at 2.8%.

Over the year the increases in the food sector were 1.2% in the euro area and 1.8% in the EU27 and in the non-food sector 1.8% and 2.7% respectively. The highest increases were in Luxembourg at 9.4% and the largest decreases were in Malta at 8%.

Outward Investment Highest Since 2007

2011-06-11T12:12:00.000+01:00

The ONS has released data regarding mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving UK companies with values of over £1m covering the first quarter of 2011. The value of acquisitions abroad by UK companies was the highest outward investment since the fourth quarter of 2007 increasing to £18.3bn from £3.8bn in the last quarter of 2010. The investments invloved 44 acquisitions in the first quarter compared to 66 in the last quarter.

The value of acquisitions in the UK by foreign companies fell from £7bn to £6.4bn over the quarter. Expenditure by UK companies on acquisitions of UK companies fell to £1.2bn from £6.3bn in the last quarter of last year.