British industry body raises UK growth forecast

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has raised its forecast for UK economic growth this year to 1.2 per cent – double the pace predicted by finance minister George Osborne in his March budget.

It becomes the latest organisation to raise its outlook for the UK after a series of surveys and official data have suggested green shoots of recovery are taking hold, prompting the CBI to raise its 2013 growth estimate from 1 per cent.

"The economy has started to gain momentum and confidence is picking up, but it's still early days," said John Cridland, CBI director-general. "We need to see a full-blown rebalancing of our economy, with stronger business investment and trade before we can call a sustainable recovery."

The CBI said there were “signs of a pick-up in confidence across a range of sectors, including services, construction and manufacturing”. For 2014, the group is now pencilling 2.3 per cent growth, up from May’s forecast of 2 per cent.

The National Institute for Economic and Social Research and forecasters Fathom Consulting both upgraded their outlook for the UK economy earlier this month to 1.2 per cent.– (Guardian News and Media 2013)