Data revealed by the Office for National Statistics has shown that the UK economy has marginally grown despite the doom and gloom forecasts in the wake of Brexit.
The economy grew 2.3% in the third quarter. GDP grew by 0.5%, a slight dip from the second quarter but not as bad as predicted.
Ruth Gregory, a UK economist from Capital Economics said:
“It could be that the economy is in a post-referendum ‘sweet spot’ whereby some of the positive developments since the vote, such as action by the [Bank of England] have been felt before the major adverse consequences, such as a rise in inflation.”
The Bank of England had slashed interest rates to 0.25% in a scramble to save the economy post-referendum.
The fall in the British pound has also encouraged those overseas to spend more, contributing to consumer spending which has in turn helped stimulate the economy.
However, things don’t look so good on the horizon. Howard Archer, chief economist at HIS Markit, said:
“We expect the economy to suffer in 2017 as the uncertainties facing businesses and consumers are magnified by the triggering of Article 50.”
