020 7898 0500Yesterday we learned that the UK economy grew by 1.5% on an annual basis and 0.4% in the three months to September 2017. This was exactly as economists had expected and there was little movement on what was a pretty quiet day for the currency markets. It is perhaps worth reiterating that growth has slowed significantly following Brexit uncertainty and UK businesses will therefore be looking to government to put plans in place sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, there was some welcome news in the form of retail sales which showed they have bounced back from what a surprising drop in October. CBI reported that 39% of shops they spoke to said sales volumes were up from the same time last year, with 13% reporting a drop. That gives us a figure of +26% which should provide some relief as we approach Christmas. On the flip side, employment in the retail sector has declined for the fourth quarter running and is expected to decline further in December.
Today we have the mortgage approvals figures for October which are forecast to hit 41,900 from 41,584 in the month previous.
