A top NatWest boss in the North West has said companies in the region are "holding on to hopes that the lull in demand will be temporary" and that activity will increase over the next 12 months but warned that is contingent on a "number of things, not least developments in inflation".
Richard Topliss, who chairs the bank's North Regional Board, made the comments after new figures revealed that although business activity across the North West rose in July, the rate of growth was only modest and below the UK average.
The latest regional PMI data from NatWest also shows there were further signs of demand coming under pressure from high inflation, as inflows of new work in the region fell for the first time in almost a year-and-a-half.
