Business optimism among suppliers blossomed in the first three months of the year. And for the second quarter in a row, the number of suppliers feeling increasingly optimistic rose sharply, up from 19% to 35% in the UK and from 16% to 32% abroad.
The +12% domestic result is the first positive balance since the end of 2000.
However, the feel-good factor is still balanced by weak order books, producing a balance of -24 in the UK and -54 abroad.
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