Travelex Confidence Index (TCI) Explained

Read the latest Travelex Confidence Index report – November 2011

What is the Travelex Confidence Index (TCI)?

The TCI is a measure of the views, sentiments and confidences of the UK’s SME importers and exporters.

Developed in partnership with TNS-RI, the index has been running since March 2010 and is released monthly.

The TCI measures the views and sentiments of the UK’s importers and exporters across three sub-indices:

• The International trade index measures importers and exporters views on international trade conditions and general economic growth.

• The Current situation Index measures importers and exporters views on current government policies and availability of business credit.

• The Expectations index measures importers and exporters views on whether international trade conditions will improve in 12 months and whether their business will see growth in its international activity.

Why is the Travelex Confidence Index (TCI) important?

The TCI is a key measure of the mood, sentiment and confidences of the UK’s SME importers and exporters.

Exports have taken on a renewed importance in the wake of the financial crisis, as policymakers steer the UK towards an export-led economic recovery.

Whilst we have access to official government statistics on international trade, there has been little research that regularly tracks the views of importers and exporters on the ground.

With this in mind, Travelex Global Business Payments felt it was crucial to create an index that measured the views of the businesses that are driving our economic recovery. Whilst the TCI does not measure the level of imports or exports or attach a financial value to it, assessing how secure SME importers and exporters feel within their businesses offers us an indication on future international trading conditions and the UK economy.

Nothing on this page purports to provide any financial, investment or professional advice and Travelex Global Business Payments makes no representation, warranty or condition of any kind, expressed or implied