Scottish Economic Growth Boosted by New Business Injection

The Scottish economy is going from strength to strength as the latest Bank of Scotland PMI showed that new business entering the country helped provide a strong performance for the services sector.

The PMI showed that October marked a return to growth for factory output while business services and travel, tourism and leisure helped massively boost the economy overall.

"Both services and manufacturing sectors recorded growth with a welcome increase in the level of new business, particularly in financial services," said Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae.

"But, the level of new export orders at manufacturers fell for the fourth month in succession, illustrating the effect of the slowdown in the eurozone.

"The Scottish economic recovery continues but at a reduced rate compared to the first half of the year."

The Bank of Scotland data falls in line with the Scottish Chambers of Commerce's (SCC) quarterly business survey that warned that while the country's economy is beginning to stabilise, industry issues across the eurozone have led to growth being slower over the last three months.

The SCC added that firms were still performing strongly, and sporting events, such as the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, boosted tourism performance.

However, the SCC warned that it would be hard to replicate the economic boost towards the end of the year.