Growth bounce for GDP but UK set to slow again
ECONOMIC growth rebounded slightly in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) preliminary estimates revealed yesterday.
Growth came in at 0.5 per cent, up from 0.1 per cent in the second quarter. Year on year, the ONS figures put growth at 0.5 per cent.
However, October’s manufacturing figures from Markit show the sector contracting into the fourth quarter.
Services grew by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter, according to the ONS.
Transport, storage and communications expanded by 0.9 per cent, led by telecoms and computing, and business services and finance followed, with 0.8 per cent growth.
Manufacturing output grew by an estimated 0.5 per cent.
Chancellor George Osborne described the GDP expansion as “a positive step forward for the economy”.
However, analysts from Deutsche Bank described the recovery as “worse than the Great Depression” as output remains almost four per cent below its pre-recession peak.
Meanwhile, October’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) from Markit fell to 47.4 from 50.8 in September. Any figure below 50 indicates a contraction.