The British economy steered clear of entering recession in this year’s third quarter witnessing 0.3 per cent growth, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which said gross domestic product (GDP) rebounded in the July-September period after a 0.2-per cent contraction in the second quarter. Two straight quarters of negative growth imply a recession.
The construction and services sectors propelled economic activity, while the production sector was flat, according to global newswires.The British economy steered clear of entering recession in this year's third quarter witnessing 0.3 per cent growth, according to the Office for National Statistics, which said gross domestic product (GDP) rebounded in the July-September period after a 0.2-per cent contraction in the second quarter. Two straight quarters of negative growth imply a recession.#
“GDP grew steadily in the third quarter, mainly thanks to a strong July,” said an ONS spokesman. The third-quarter performance, however, fell short of market expectations and the Bank of England’s growth forecast, both of which had stood at 0.4 per cent.
And despite rebounding growth, the ONS pointed to ‘signs’ of a slowdown, as the United Kingdom readies to leave the European Union on January 31.
On an annual comparison, British GDP grew by 1 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier—the weakest reading since the first three months of 2010.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)