29 Aug 2014
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has warned that this year’s improved economic conditions may suffer unless exports and investments are given a boost.
Director General of the BCC, John Longworth, said: ‘Our forecast confirms that Britain has become one of the fastest-growing developed economies. We are leading, rather than following, other major economies when it comes to short-term growth.
‘The task at hand is to ensure that the stellar 2014 growth is not a flash in the pan. We need to invest and export more, innovate, and build. It is disappointing that we have downgraded export growth for the next two years as a strong international trade performance is key if we are to steer away from a reliance on consumer spending’.
The BCC has upgraded its GDP growth forecasts from 3.1% to 3.2% in 2014, and from 2.7% to 2.8% in 2015. This year would mark the first time since 2007 that growth has exceeded 3%.
Chief Economist at the BCC, David Kern, added: ‘Though our GDP forecasts have been upgraded we are predicting a slight downturn in the pace of growth from next year. This reflects deceleration in household consumption, and falling public spending as a share of GDP. Together, these factors will more than offset the increased contributions to GDP growth from investment and trade’.