London's Economy Today - Issue 4 - December 2002

The overview

• Official figures continue to show that there is a recovery taking place in the UK and that recession has been avoided.
• There are, however, still some downside risks, around the international situation, domestic consumer confidence and business investment.
• The London economy continues to be affected by stock market weakness and profit warnings.

Economic indicators

• Airport traffic seems to have recovered entirely from 11 September 2001.
• Retail sales were 8.1 per cent higher in October than the previous month and 5.6 per cent higher than last October.
• Office availability in London continued its recent upward trend in Q2 of 2002.

The risk of recession in London

• The UK economy is showing signs of recovery. However there are downside risks.
• The uncertainty in world equity markets, weak UK business investment and a rise in office space availability in London present risks to the sustainability of a recovery.
• Consumer spending is the main uncertainty. However, the risk of a recession in London remains relatively low.

London’s Economy Today data on the Datastore

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