Ashton Whiteley - Britain Revises Economic Growth Data

SHANGHAI, February 26, 2018 (Newswire.com) - According to economists at Ashton Whiteley, official data showed that Britain’s economy grew less than originally thought in the final quarter of last year.

The Office for National Statistics said that GDP expanded by 0.4% in the last three months of 2017 and not the 0.5% that was initially estimated.

Ashton Whiteley economists say that the downward revision was due to more sluggish growth in the production sector.

The UK economy expanded by 1.7% last year. This, too, was less than the ONS had previously thought and represented the slowest growth in five years.

The data released by the ONS revealed that household spending increased by 1.8% in 2017, the weakest yearly rate of growth in five years. Ashton Whiteley economists believe the weak growth in household spending can be attributed to elevated retail prices.

ONS statistician, Darren Morgan stated that minor revisions to production industries were enough to cause a downward revision of growth in the last quarter of 2017.

Last year, the UK’s production industries suffered when a major oil pipeline was temporarily shut down for the majority of December, costing in the region of £20m per day in lost production.

Ashton Whiteley economists feel that certain areas of Britain’s economy were weak enough to cause serious concern in the period from October to December 2017.

Overall, the data released by the ONS indicated that the construction sector is in a recession while household spending showed lukewarm growth. Households have been under extreme pressure with slow salary growth and elevated inflation.

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Source: Ashton Whiteley