Confidence among Northern companies has increased sharply since June, according to the latest survey carried out by the Confederation of British Industry in Northern Ireland. The overall increase is due to the service sector, as manufacturers' confidence in their own business actually fell. The last survey was undertaken in June, and overall confidence in the Northern economy has also risen significantly. This was again due to the service sector, with manufacturers being equally split on whether confidence was falling or rising. However, manufacturers were found to be less pessimistic than in the previous survey.

Exports to the Republic were found to be holding up well across all sectors, but manufacturing exports to other countries fell sharply.