While the rest of the world looks on at what the future holds for the UK as Brexit negotiations are due to get underway later on this year and despite the drop of confidence in other parts of our economy, it appears that the UK export industry is staying strong. According to the new Quarterly International Trade Outlook and Confidence Index that was published by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the confidence among exporters in the UK has not diminished.
The Trade Confidence Index essentially measures the amount of volume of trade documentation issued by the very much accredited Chambers of Commerce increased by 5.5% in the last quarter and is also up by 9% from the year before. This is said to be the second highest level volume of trade to be on record, which offers an exciting insight into the future of trade in the UK despite the uncertainty surrounding our economy as we negotiate leaving the European Union.
The BCC, who are partnered with DHL, have stated in their findings that the number of businesses who have said to have found improvements in their export sale numbers has been significant and looks promising to the future of trade. Businesses who offer both services and manufacturing are more confident than in previous years when it comes to their turnover and profitability.
The political uncertainty here in the UK has clearly yet to have had a significant negative impact on trade, even despite the fact that the pound is weaker and currency has fluctuated. Out of all of the companies that took part in the Index, 25% of service firms and 52% of manufacturers said that their greatest concern was, in fact, exchange rates.
The BCC director, Dr Marshall said that these findings offer an important insight into the way that modern businesses operate, in the fact that they are ignoring the media and political noise and are continuing to operate in a way that best suits their business, with a particular focus being on the success of what they do.
The Quarterly International Trade Outlook highlights that while there are still many questions yet to be answered with regards to the future of our economy and trade with Europe, there is a great deal of optimism too. The UK is still optimistic about their future and is continuing to work hard in the face of uncertainty.
Part of the success of trade at this time may well be mainly due to the fact that customers are embracing the fall of the value of the pound, however it has to be said that the ‘keep calm and carry on’ spirit is very much evident and plays a vital role in this present situation. Confidence in place of complacency may be exactly what is needed to get the UK economy through the confusion of this time.
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