A plunge in construction activity and the so-called Beast from the East took their toll on economic growth in the first quarter, with growth falling to 0.1%.
The preliminary figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which were much worse than economists and markets had predicted, showed the weakest growth since 2012.
It sparked a dive in the value of the pound, trading at $1.38 versus the dollar, as expectations of a rise in interest rates by the Bank of England next month tumbled.
The Bank had been forecasting a rise in gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.3%.
But the ONS data, which is subject to revisions as more information becomes available, showed that while the bad weather had played a role in the decline – from growth of 0.4% in the previous quarter – other factors were also at play.
The biggest contributor, it said, was a big slowdown in the construction sector, which fell 3.3% on the previous quarter with much of the decrease being registered in January – before the snowstorms from Siberia had even struck.
That was the month when Carillion collapsed – sending a shiver through the industry at a time when it grapples other challenges including higher costs and labour shortages.
Service sector output, which accounts for over three quarters of the UK economy, grew by just 0.3%. Only industrial output improved on its performance, aided by increased energy demand.
More follows…
The post Beast helps leave economy cold as first quarter growth eases to 0.1% appeared first on Article Pub.
from WordPress https://ift.tt/2r3A5v2
No comments:
Post a Comment