This publication summarises intelligence from the Bank’s Agents considered by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its June meeting. The intelligence was gathered in the six weeks to mid-May. The Agents’ scores published alongside this document generally represent developments over the past three months compared with the same three months a year ago.
Contacts report a pick up in consumer demand in 2024 Q2, following a wet April, though they consider that consumer caution is still a drag on growth. Despite this, contacts continue to display the same optimism as they did in the previous round that quarterly volume growth of consumption will pick up in the second half of the year, in line with the May Monetary Policy Report (MPR). Investment intentions seem to have bounced back to marginally positive levels from their dip at the last update. Growth in services export values persists, while growth in goods export volumes remains negative.