Scottish economic activity weakened in the first quarter of the year as the impact of the global oil price downturn dragged on output, Reuters reported. The first RBS Business Monitor, conducted by the Fraser of Allander Institute and including input from 330 Scottish companies, showed export activity also fell in the three-month period. Just 17% of respondents reported a rise in overseas trade in the period while more than double saw their international sales fall. It was the fourth consecutive quarter that exports decreased and almost a quarter of the companies surveyed expected the situation to get worse over the coming half year.
