A SILVER lining to the dark cloud of recession has emerged, after the latest North West Chambers of Commerce economic survey claimed business confidence had stopped its negative slide.

While most businesses questioned still said confidence was low, the gap between them and those who felt more positive has narrowed, compared with the previous quarter.

North West Chambers of Commerce chairman Mick Mayor said: “It is far too early to say that confidence is on the up, but it may be that it has reached its lowest point and is starting to bottom out. Hopefully this is not just a blip and we will start to see a steady rise in confidence over the coming months.”

The survey concurred with Liverpool’s own figures in that turnover had fallen for both manufacturers and services, with 82% of North West manufacturers and 74% of service providers reporting they were working at less than full capacity. Also, the fall in the value of the pound has not given the predicted boost to exporters, with 54% of manufacturers worried about exchange rates.

Mr Mayor said: “The fall in the pound hasn’t brought the expected boost to exporters. It very much depends on individual circumstances how exchange rates affect manufacturers. If they have to import parts and raw materials, their costs will have risen.”

The survey also found there was less concern about inflation, with the main concerns now being exchange and business rates. Mr Mayor added: “The Chancellor’s recent announcement to stagger business rate increases is welcome, but still falls way short of the help that businesses need.“