UK business sentiment edges up in May, Lloyds says

LONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - British business ​sentiment edged up ⁠in May and is ​now close to its level before the Iran war, according to a ​monthly ‌survey by Lloyds on Friday which contrasted with most other ⁠measures of business and consumer sentiment.

"Businesses in ⁠May were more optimistic ​about their own trading prospects, with two thirds expecting stronger output over the year ahead," said Hann-Ju Ho, a senior economist ​at Lloyds ‌Commercial Banking.

Following are other points from the report and broader context:

* Business confidence rose 3 points in May to +47, close to its 12-month average of +48 and above the ​long-run average of +30 since the survey began in 2002

* ‌Businesses' confidence in their own trading outlook rose 4 points to +58

* Confidence in the ‌wider economy rose 2 points to +35

* Rising inflation and cost pressures, economic uncertainty and weaker customer demand were the main ​negative factors

* Confidence among construction firms showed a 15-point jump to +44 in ‌May, close to its 12-month average

* Retail improved 8 points to +53, services were unchanged at +45 and manufacturing fell 4 ⁠points to +43

* ⁠Previously released preliminary PMI data for ‌UK businesses fell to the lowest in more than a year in ​May

* Lloyds' ​data was based on online polling ‌by Ipsos of 1,200 companies with annual sales of at least £250,000 ($336,000), conducted from April 30 to May 18 ($1 = 0.7440 pounds) (Reporting by David Milliken; editing by William Schomberg)