UK exports forecast downgraded – BCC

BRITISH export growth will fall by almost half next year, a business forecaster has said, with Labour's string of deals failing to improve hopes of a revival in international trade.

- FELIX ARMSTRONG and MAURICIO ALENCAR

The Labour government has made trade a key lever to boost growth prospects, using new deals with the likes of the EU and India to boost market opportunities for business leaders in the UK.

But export growth is expected to fall from around 3% this year to 1.8% in 2026, according to economists at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

The new forecast is a significant reduction from the previously announced 3.3%.

With business confidence at a historical low ahead of last month's Budget, the latest BCC forecast has suggested Rachel Reeves' interventions will fail to reverse this decline.