MNI BRIEF: BOE DMP Survey Sees Sharp Jump In Output Prices

Outgoing factory gate inflation in the UK continues to increase, a Bank of England survey shows, with prices seen rising 5.9% on average in the three months to March, up by 0.6 percentage points on February, while the single month data showed a larger increase, up 1.9 percentage points, to 6.9%. Expected year-ahead annual output price inflation also rose to 5.0% in the three months to March 2023, up from 4.8% in February, the Bank's Decision Maker Panel survey shows.

The survey of corporate decision makers also highlights that the war in Ukraine will negatively impact sales in the coming year, with the average impact being a fall of around 3%. Almost a half (48%) of respondents to the Decision Makers Panel survey viewed the conflict as a top-three source of uncertainty for their business, with 11% of firms citing it as their greatest current source.

The impact on expected sales and uncertainty was observed across all sectors. However, the share of firms reporting Brexit in their top three sources of uncertainty was 22% in March, down from 30% in February.