Manufacturing companies edged closer to recession in Q2 while the service sector turned down but not as badly as previously feard, according to the latest quarterly economic survey from the British Chambers of Commerce. Domestic sales in manufacturing crashed to a balance of -1 from +11 in Q1; orders plummeted to -5 from +8. Manufacturing companies' concerns about the strength of sterling worsened again this quarter. Manufacturers' confidence in turnover slumped to a balance of +32 from +50, while for profitability it fell to +24 from +34. Service-sector company sales slipped along with sales, but confidence in turnover remained reasonably high, showing a balance of +49 compared with +53 in Q1, while confidence in profitability nudged to +37 from +38.