U.K. business confidence in the economic outlook plunged this month to its lowest level since the depths of the recession in 2009, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets said.

An index of British companies’ optimism about the economy compared with three months earlier dropped to minus 3 from 19 in July, when the gauge declined 17 points, the unit of Lloyds Banking Group Plc said in an e-mailed report released in London today. August’s reading is the lowest since March 2009.

“The sharp fall reflects a variety of factors, including concerns about slowing global growth, the U.S. ratings downgrade and the inability of policy makers to fix the euro-area sovereign-debt crisis,” Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets economists Hann-Ju Ho and Jonathan Thomas wrote. “Prospects for the economy in the second half of the year look to be somewhat weaker than previously anticipated.” 

(Bloomberg)