Review of Scottish business surveys [June 2016]

Business surveys are a useful tool to provide accurate and timely data and are extremely helpful in pinpointing subtle movements and also turning points in the economy. The business surveys reviewed here provide an overview of key recent evidence of the Scottish economy. Once again the latest set of Scottish Business Surveys are not particularly strong and show that many of the key benchmark indicators continued to slow in the most recent quarters . For business the economic outlook remains muted, perhaps reflecting the oil price fall and its onshore impact in Scotland, especially in the North East and on the supply chain, as well as uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum. T h is sense of uncertainty is most tangible for the business optimism and investment key balances and it is concerning that many of the forward - looking indicators indicate an easing of trends.