Five Pound note (sterling).

CBI expects UK economy to expand by 2.7% in 2015

Written by Joseph Nordqvist

Published: 23:49, February 15, 2015

The Confederation of British Industries (CBI) lobby group now expects the British economy to expand by 2.7% this year, up from its previous forecast of 2.5%.

The group said that the reason why it upgraded its forecast is because of low inflation and improvements in employment.

But the CBI did say that the current “volatility” in the eurozone is one of the major risks that could affect UK growth.

According to the CBI, household spending as well as wage growth picking up is going to help give the UK economy a bit of a boost.

business arrow diagram

More businesses in the UK will be investing as operating costs decline

The CBI also forecast a 5.8% rise in business investment for the year.

Companies are expected to be spending more because of the slump in oil prices, which has cut operating costs, allowing them to spend more money on investing.

However, while some firms will benefit from the slump North Sea companies have been hit hard.

“While lower oil prices are keeping costs down for businesses and consumers, the North Sea oil companies are suffering, harming jobs and investment in the industry, said Katja Hall, CBI deputy director-general.

“Now is not the time for complacency, but falling unemployment coupled with improving wage growth and rock bottom inflation should mean that people see more money in their pockets,” she added.

The report added that lower interest rates will also help spur growth. Economists don’t expect there to be an interest rate rise until next year.

 

UK economy growing at an impressive rate

UK GDP grew by 2.6% in 2014, which was much faster than other European nations.

The CBI doesn’t expect oil to climb above $65 per barrel this year and predicts consumer price inflation to stay under 1%.

A Treasury spokesman commented on these figures:

“This is welcome news for households and families, but the job is not yet done so we must keep working through the plan that is delivering economic security in an uncertain world economy.”

Joseph Nordqvist Avatar

Other News

QAD and Redzone plan NVIDIA-powered AI for factory data and production planning

Sep 22, 2026

World Cup pitchside sponsorship raised a cross-border advertising problem

Sep 22, 2026

Hollywood’s biggest budgets still favour male-only teams, study finds

Sep 22, 2026

Why more companies are becoming their own insurers

Sep 22, 2026

EU publishes data-centre rating rules and opens consultation on minimum standards

Sep 21, 2026

ABB launches Infinitus DC portfolio for AI data centers, with first full sites expected in two to three years

Sep 21, 2026

Starbucks selects Chennai for a technology hub, with work set to move in-house over time

Sep 21, 2026

CXMT says its G5 memory platform has entered mass production with more dies per wafer

Sep 21, 2026

JD Sports will enter Mexico through a long-term Grupo Axo franchise partnership

Sep 21, 2026

Bank of Italy says the way AI gains are shared could affect inflation

Sep 21, 2026

German staff are bringing AI into work before employers formalise its use

Sep 21, 2026

Arrive AI and DXC target autonomous delivery on large manufacturing campuses

Sep 20, 2026

US investment abroad reached $7.1 trillion in 2025, but the figure is not annual spending

Sep 20, 2026

Germany sees early signs of a slowdown as energy costs lift inflation again

Sep 20, 2026

COBOL still runs critical business systems because replacing the system is harder than replacing the language

Sep 20, 2026

Heat stress adds $41 per ton to the estimated cost of carbon, study finds

Sep 20, 2026

UN lifts global growth forecast, but warns energy shock has revived inflation pressure

Sep 20, 2026

HPE lifts outlook after AI servers and networking drive record quarterly revenue

Sep 20, 2026

A missed opportunity can make managers keep weak projects alive

Sep 19, 2026

Surgical robots are gaining autonomy, but surgeons still run the operating room

Sep 18, 2026