UK business confidence down again

Confidence among British businesses dipped again last month, with more firms preparing for a slowdown in trade in the coming year, according to a new study today.

A survey of 200 firms by banking group Lloyds showed they were overwhelmingly pessimistic about the state of the economy for the 15th month in a row, although there was some evidence of brighter hopes.

A third of those questioned expressed more optimism in February than the previous month, according to the bank's business barometer.

Trevor Williams, chief economist at Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, said: "Confidence in business prospects and in the wider economy will always be intertwined. But we should never expect signs of optimism in the outlook for the economy to have an immediate impact on firms' own business confidence.

"It is clear from the latest business barometer that although hopes for the economy have risen, possibly buoyed by the raft of measures announced by the (British) government, there is some way to go before businesses regain faith in their own prospects."