The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has upgraded its UK GDP forecast for 2014 but cautioned the recovery may be short-lived unless exports bounce back.
In its Q3 update, the BCC said it expects the UK economy to grow 3.2% this year and by 2.8% in 2015, up from forecasts of 3.1% and 2.7% three months ago. However, those figures, driven by higher consumer spending, were accompanied by a halving of its forecast for export growth, to 0.8%. The Bank of England, by contrast, continues to predict 2.25% growth for the export sector this year. "The task at hand is to ensure that the stellar 2014 growth is not a flash in the pan," said BCC Director-General John Longworth. "A strong international trade performance is key if we are to steer a...
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