Home/Newsfeed

UK growth disappoints as election looms

Share Print 0

U.K. gross domestic product (GDP) expanded slower than expected in the first quarter, in the last major economic indicator before the country’s general election in nine days’ time.

A first estimate from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed that GDP grew by 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, below a forecast of 0.5 percent, according to a poll of analysts by Reuters.

Although services output increased by 0.5 percent over the period, the headline figures was pulled down by the three other main sectors. Construction fell by 1.6 percent, production slid 0.1 percent and agriculture fell by 0.2 percent, the ONS said.

The data will not be welcomed by U.K. Prime Minister, David Cameron, who has made the strength of the economy a key part of his campaign ahead of a general election on May 7. Sterling fell to $1.5185 after the data.

Responding to the data, Cameron and U.K. Finance Minister, George Osborne, said the economy was still growing, but that the recovery could not be taken for granted.

CNBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Craig Erlam

Craig Erlam

Former Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary.

His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News.

Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.
, , , , , ,
Back to Top