BCC hails continued UK growth

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has stated that the UK's economy remains on the right track and is expected to continue growing over the course of 2014.

A new report from the body stated that Q4 2013 results are positive and point to continued growth in the short term, with manufacturing and services hailed as among the sectors to be performing the best for the country's economy.

Chief economist at the BCC David Kern stated that most Q4 key balances higher than their 2007 pre-recession levels, while some of them have even moved to new record highs, indicating the recovery of the UK's economy in the last few months.

The BCC previously predicted 0.8 per cent quarterly GDP growth in Q4 2013, following on from 0.8 per cent in Q3, but Mr Kern noted that Q4 growth may be upgraded to 0.9 per cent on the back of the figures uncovered by the organisation's research.

However, the current level of growth, driven by buoyant housing and strong increases in household consumption, will weaken slightly in reaction to unduly high personal debt levels. GDP growth is likely to be slower in 2015 than in 2014," he said.

Business growth

The economist added that business is ready to play a key role in rebalancing the economy thanks to strong export and investment balances. The BCC representative also called for the the government and the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to create the necessary conditions for this to happen.

Interest rates have been held at a record low of 0.5 per cent by the MPC since March 2010 and the governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney previously said rates would be held at least until the UK's unemployment rate drops to below seven per cent.

The positivity of the BCC report comes after chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne warned that austerity in the UK is here to stay, with more cuts needing to be made after the next general election in 2014.

Mr Osborne claimed a further £25 billion will need to be saved and mapped out how he intends to shave some of this amount from the welfare budget if the Conservatives win the election.

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