The news that confidence among Britain’s biggest businesses has hit a record high, has been followed up with good news on UK trade with the EU.
According to new figures published as parts of the economy reopen from lockdown, optimism is at its highest level for 13 years.
A quarterly poll of finance directors at leading UK companies showed optimism was at its highest level since the survey was launched 13 years ago.
Sentiment has been boosted by the success of Britain’s mass vaccination programme with the pandemic now seen as having less of a negative impact than previously feared.
It comes as official figures show trade between the UK and EU partially recovered in February, after a steep drop in January following Brexit.
Export to the EU jumped by 46.6 per cent, £3.7bn, to £11.6bn, following January’s 42 per cent slump when firms struggled with new trade rules.
However, the Office for National Statistics said exports were still below last year’s levels and imports from the EU had seen a weaker recovery.
Other figures from the ONS showed the UK economy grew by 0.4 per cent in February.
The UK’s statistics body said the economy was still 7.8 per cent smaller than a year earlier, before the impact of the pandemic.
Last month’s trade figures were the first since new trading rules came into force as a result of Brexit trade rule changes.
Both the ONS and business analysts said the drop in trade flows was partly caused by stockpiling in December 2020, as businesses tried to get ahead of the introduction of the new rules, depressing trade in January.
In addition, the end of the temporary trading arrangement between the UK and the EU coincided with the discovery of a new strain of COVID-19 in the UK, which caused further complications and delays, after lorry drivers were required to take tests before crossing the border at the English Channel.
The Federation of Small Businesses said overall sales had dropped by £2.5bn and its members needed more help.
Chairman Mike Cherry said: “UK exports have tumbled since the end of the [Brexit] transition period.
“International sales are way down on where they were at this time last year. A fifth of small exporters have halted sales to the EU temporarily and some have already given up on selling into the bloc on a permanent basis.”
UK imports from the EU rose by 7.3 per cent, or £1.2bn in February to £17.1bn, after dropping 29.7 per cent the month before.
Total imports of goods from non-EU countries rose by 10.2 per cent to £17.9bn in February, while exports fell by 10.5 per cent to £12.7bn.
Covid restrictions remained in place to varying degrees across all four nations of the UK during January and February.
“The economy showed some improvement in February after the large falls seen at the start of the year but remains around 8 per cent below its pre-pandemic level,” an ONS spokesperson said.
The latest ONS data also indicated that the economy did not shrink by as much as initially estimated in January. The statistics body said gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 2.2 per cent in January, an upward revision from its original estimate of a 2.9 per cent drop.
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