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The Business Barometer, produced by Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, revealed that in May, the number of firms forecasting a rise in activity increased from 35 per cent to 44 per cent.
And the amount of organisations predicting that activity will drop fell from 21 per cent to 16 per cent, the report added.
Commenting on the findings, chief economist for Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets Trevor Williams claimed it is "premature" to take them as a sign the recession is coming to an end.
But he stated: "We should be careful not to overlook the significance of the growing confidence we are witnessing amongst businesses."
In related news recently, May's Purchasing Managers Index from Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchase and Supply increased to 45.4, a rise from 43.1 the month before.
