According to the company’s UK Recovery Tracker, the pace of the Covid-19 recovery slowed last month, with only ten of the 14 sectors monitored posting output growth, two fewer than in October. Just four saw output growth accelerate month-on-month.
Industrial goods (91.5) and chemicals (90.6) businesses saw the second and third highest prevalence of input price rises respectively, while the tourism and recreation sector (90.5) saw the most widespread price rises of any service sector category.
According to the report, rising energy prices were an "increasingly significant driver" of cost inflation.
In November, the number of UK businesses that said they experienced higher energy bills and fuel prices was 3.8 times higher than the pre-2021 average. This compares to 3.5 times the pre-2021 average in October.
The tracker also reportedly showed that tourism and leisure had the biggest gap between its input and output price indices (31.6).
In September, the tracker found that travel agents capitalising on the relaxation of the UK’s travel rules helped the tourism and recreation sector "outpace" all others to become the fastest growing UK sector for the first time since January 2012.
Scott Barton, managing director of corporate and institutional coverage for Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said business leaders have been "working hard" to capitalise on higher demand, while facing the "headwind" of cost inflation.
"With uncertainty around the spread of the Omicron variant, businesses now need to respond to ‘plan B’ impacts in England and restrictions in the UK’s nations as well as overseas," he added.
"Smart businesses will be ensuring their working capital position can support further pressures in costs or allows them to secure supplies in advance of their needs to ensure no interruptions."
