Businesses are increasingly confident that they can use inflation to rebuild their margins, according to the latest monthly barometer from Lloyds Bank.
Confidence among firms has risen for the first time since the war in Ukraine began, in February this year, The Times has reported.
It rose by five points on the index, to reach 38% - compared to the long-term average of 28%.
The barometer found that 60% of the companies surveyed in the past month said they planned to raise prices in order to protect margins, due to the increasing cost of supplies, while 16% said they planned to increase workers’ pay by 4% or more.
Earlier this month, a new survey from GfK found that consumer confidence had dropped to its lowest level for nearly 50 years, with shopping and recreational outings down 11% compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to Google Mobility data.
