Any other business | 11 June 2011

The construction industry looks perky, and this time it’s not building state-funded follies

Not exactly Flaming June so far, is it? Up north, we’ve had one day of blazing sunshine — and being northerners, we complained it was too hot. Down south, you’ve had a continuous drizzle of dismal economic indicators. Inflation is up; growth forecasts have been slashed, in the IMF’s case by a whole percentage point to 1.5 per cent for 2011. Manufacturing output has fallen back for the first time in two years. New car registrations were down 1.7 per cent year on year in May and retail sales were 0.3 per cent worse than in April — when mortgage approvals were at their lowest level since 1993.

John Lipsky, the moustachioed man from the IMF, says the setback is temporary, driven by higher fuel and commodity prices, and George Osborne’s policies are on the right track. But the absence of economic momentum weighs heavy on the national mood.