§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her assessment of the impact of the oil price on business investment in the UK. [168890]
§ Mr. TimmsThe price of oil is just one of many factors that affects the level of business investment in the UK economy, and for most sectors is a less important factor than, for instance, the cost of capital or profitability. Moreover, although international oil prices have been relatively high over the last year, the fall in the value of the US dollar has helped the sterling oil price rise less steeply.
The Department's assessment therefore is that high recent international oil prices have impacted little on overall investment levels within the UK. Indeed the most recent investment data show business investment in the UK rising during each of the last three quarters of 2003.