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Economic Development

North East business confidence falls but stays above national levels, survey says

Business Barometer from Lloyds Commercial Banking points to improving confidence in all sectors at a national level, though it remains in negative territory

View across the River Tyne at Newcastle Quayside. North East business activity is rebounding, research shows(Image: VisitBritain/AndrewPickett)

Business confidence in the North East dipped during August, a new survey has found.

The Business Barometer from Lloyds Commercial Banking found that confidence in the region fell two points to -5%, though it remained above the national level of -14%.

Companies in the North East reported lower confidence in their business prospects and the majority of firms continued to see demand negatively affected during August. Just over half (55%) experienced a fall in demand for their products and services and only 7% experienced an increase in demand.

More than half of businesses (52%) reported disruption to their supply chain and around a quarter (27%) said they could not operate at full capacity while meeting social distancing guidelines.

Paul Varley, regional director for the North East at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “The North East is one of the most confident regions in the 海角视频, second only to the South East. But the caveat remains that we’re still in a period of historic lows in optimism.

“Nevertheless, despite this month’s marginal dip, it’s encouraging to see confidence largely returning to the region after being absent since before the lockdown in March. We’ll continue to be by the side of businesses across the North East as they look towards economic recovery.”

Nationally, confidence levels rose eight points in August but remained in negative territory. All four major industry sectors reported confidence at the highest levels since March but were also in negative, with manufacturing at -7%, construction at -11%, retail on -8% and services recording a score of -18%.

Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “With business confidence sitting well below the long-term average, and official data for Q2 confirming the 海角视频 re-entered recession, the shape of any economic recovery remains highly uncertain.