British economy progresses at good pace

The British economy continues to record substantial growth, according to a survey published on Tuesday by the British Chambers of Commerce's (BCC). In its Q1 Quarterly Economic Survey, BCC polled about 8,000 companies, with 75 percent being in the services sector, the rest in manufacturing. The companies in the service sector who said their export sales had grown over the past three months were two percentage points higher than that in Q4 of 2013, reaching a record high of 38 percent The companies who said their export orders had grown in Q1 hit a record high of 39 percent, six percentage points higher than that in Q4, 2013. "The survey is good news across the board. Most balances in the manufacturing and services sectors are strong," BCC chief economist David Kern told Xinhua. "Both the export deliveries and orders are at all-time highs over the 35-year history of the survey," he added. "The message is that the economy is progressing at a good pace," he said.