Almost half of Northern Ireland’s manufacturers plan to raise their prices in the next three months due to spiralling costs, according to the latest quarterly Economic Survey from the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce (in association with BDO)(www.northernirelandchamber.com) .

Covering July, August and September, the survey shows that the Northern Ireland economy continued to grow, but there were some signs of growth ‘softening’.

Almost all the key balances remained positive, with more businesses in manufacturing and services reporting increases in indicators such as sales, exports and employment than those reporting a fall.

In particular, manufacturing had one of the strongest export balances across the 12 UK regions, but it was let down by domestic sales and orders, which were the weakest.

Brexit remains a concern, with two thirds (67%) of those who tried to recruit EU migrant workers finding the process more difficult than before the referendum vote.

Meanwhile, 58% of businesses said that exchange rates were more of a concern than before, and 72% of manufacturers have had difficulties finding staff with the required skills.

However, business confidence in both manufacturing and services remains relatively positive, with more businesses expecting their turnover to improve over the next 12 months than fall.