Business activity continued to grow at a marked pace midway through the first quarter, albeit to a weaker extent than January amid a softer rise in new orders. In spite of the slowdown, business confidence improved to its highest level since September, which in turn encouraged firms to take on additional staff at an accelerated pace. Nonetheless, backlogs of work continued to accumulate at a marked pace. On the price front, input price inflation remained sharp, and led to a further rise in average charges.

The headline seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index posted 57.4 in February. Down from January's reading of 59.2, the latest index reading highlighted the weakest rate of growth in four months, but one that remained markedly higher than the long-run series average.