Economic confidence in the UK improves

However, sentiment is low by historical standards and remains in negative territory.

The latest Global Economic Conditions Survey has suggested that the global economy is enjoying a strong recovery.

“While the global picture is optimistic, however, it does hide variations, with some regions doing much better than others,” said Narayanan Vaidyanathan, senior business analyst at ACCA.

“In the UK, we saw a substantial drop last quarter and a slight recovery since – perhaps as a result of the perception that the government might be open to a flexible approach to find common ground in its negotiations with the EU.

“Sentiment remains negative, however, with sterling remaining weak by recent standards, and inflation rising to 3%.

“This situation may ease over the coming year with the possibility of inflation coming down and increased government spending linked to some relaxation in austerity measures – which may help with increasing confidence.”