“Our monthly estimates of GDP suggest that output grew by 0.2 per cent in the three months ending in May 2018 following growth of 0.1 per cent in the three months ending in April 2018,” the National Institue of Economic and Social Research of the UK announced on Monday. Below are some key takeaways from the official publication.
- Economic growth has slowed materially since the start of this year and it continues to remain weak.
- One reason for sluggish growth is the disruption caused by severe weather in March, particularly to the construction sector.
- By contrast, the retail sector and the dominant services sector may be recovering.
- Looking ahead, we expect the economy to strengthen from here mainly because monetary policy in the UK and elsewhere continue to remain accommodative.
- The risks to that outlook are, however, weighed to the downside. The most important of these remains Brexit but there are others, most notably an escalation of tensions in international trade and a potential flare-up in uncertainty in the Euro Area because of political developments in Italy.
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