18 Apr 2024Business price pressures persist despite the UK's inflation rate falling to its lowest level since September 2021. The business group warned that uncertainty remains amongst UK small firms, with its recent Quarterly Economic Survey showing that almost half of firms polled expect their prices to rise over the next three months. Labour costs were cited as being one of the main drivers of price increases, and political and global uncertainty are also adding to firms' worries. Commenting on the data, David Bharier, Head of Research at the BCC, said: '[The] figures confirm inflation is continuing to slowly head in the right direction. That's good news for both consumers and businesses. 'Businesses will be keen to see how this data translates into changes on interest rate policy. More than a third of SMEs we surveyed at the start of the year have seen increased borrowing costs because of the current interest rate.'