Bowed down by debt and rising taxes, Britain's consumers are in no state to propel the economy forward as they did during the past decade. Much hangs on whether exporters can pull their weight again. At first sight the trade figures look promising. After increasing by 5.6% in 2005, exports rose by 11.9% in the year to the first quarter of 2006. Goods exports, which account for two-thirds of the total, grew by 7.9% in 2005 and by 17.1% in the year to the first three months of 2006, the fastest for 26 years.
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