Last month's fuel crisis which gripped Britain failed to shake business confidence in the UK.

A report from business information group Dun & Bradstreet, showed the 1,000 managers and finance directors questioned had not changed their expectations for the final quarter from predictions made three months ago.

More than half of business chiefs expected to increase profits, the same proportion as last quarter.

The survey was carried out just after the fuel protest was settled during the last week of September and the first week of October. Philip Mellor, D&B's senior business analyst said: "There is good news for exporters. More companies are expecting to increase exports which have been helped by the strengthening of the dollar against the pound.

"Inflationary pressures remain stable as do employment prospects. Firms seem to be cutting costs without losing staff and yet increasing their profit margins."

The survey showed business confidence was highest in London and the South East, the South West and in Northern Ireland, but was lowest in Wales.

However, a separate survey conducted by the Institute of Directors in the run up to the fuel blockades - between August 29 and September 11, the first day of the crisis - showed business optimism had slipped.

The IoD said its survey showed that for the third consecutive quarter, the balance of companies who were more, rather than less, optimistic about their prospects slipped to 39 per cent in September.

This compared with 49 per cent in June and 57 per cent in March. Employment, output and profits growth all decelerated, the survey showed.

However, the IoD said the deterioration should be kept in perspective and most respondents had said their companies were still performing well.