020 7898 0500The big talking point in the UK on Friday was the news that the UK economy grew by just 0.1% in the first quarter of 2018. The year-on-year figures weren’t much better and were revised down to 1.2% from the 1.4% in the first estimate. There is growing evidence to suggest that the UK economy is in an extremely weak position and with no clarification on Brexit plans forthcoming, we could see this trend continuing.
Sterling has been suffering from the effects of Brexit ever since the results of the EU referendum were released. The pound lost 12 cents against the dollar that day and it is yet to get back to where it was before the drop. And let us remember always: we haven’t left the EU yet! We could be in for an extended period of volatilitylos.
Business investment in the UK also decreased in the first quarter. In those three months, investment shrank by 0.2% which is the biggest decline since the third quarter of 2015. Year-on-year, it had been expected to increase by 2.4%, but the figure came in at 2%. Worrying signs.
This week is a quieter affair, but we will see Nationwide house prices today and Gfk consumer confidence on Thursday.
