UK economic confidence remains steady amid strong global outlook

Global economic confidence is at its highest since the first GECS survey was issued assessing Q1 2009.

GECS is the largest regular economic survey of accountants around the world, in terms of both the number of respondents and the range of economic variables it monitors.

The new survey found that confidence in UK increased to its highest level since Q1 2017. Rising costs (due to inflationary pressure) and falling incomes were cited as the biggest causes for concern by respondents.

“While UK confidence remains relatively high this past quarter, it has been volatile since the referendum result,’ said Narayanan Vaidyanathan, head of business insights at ACCA. “While the agreement of a transition period has eased concerns of a cliff edge for UK business in the short term, confidence remains fragile.”

“Meanwhile, the outlook for the global economy is as good as it has been for some time,’ said Vaidyanathan. ‘The continued rising confidence, led by North America, is also benefitting other key trading economies such as Africa and South Asia.

“The biggest concern on a global level is the potential for a full-blown trade war between US & China. While initial measures taken are not sufficient to disrupt either economy, an escalation could have global effects for their many regional trade partners.”

You can read the full report (here) or at http://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/professional-insights/global-economics/Global-economic-conditions-survey-Q1-2018.html