Heat may have come out of Britain's economy
Britain’s economy is likely to have flatlined in the second quarter, amid signs that the manufacturing and construction sectors are struggling.
Economists believe that an initial estimate – due out on Friday – will show that gross domestic product (GDP) growth was flat in the three months to June.
Growth had accelerated to 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, driven by the highest quarterly pick-up in manufacturing since the 1980s as the original Brexit deadline loomed.
Economists’ predictions are in line with the Bank of England’s own forecasts, after it confirmed last week that it expects GDP to stagnate in the second quarter.
The central bank upped its UK annual growth outlook to 2.1 per cent in 2021, though it admitted its forecasts were heavily skewed by financial markets now pencilling in an interest rate cut to 0.5 per cent in the first half of 2020 as they see a 50/50 chance of a no-deal Brexit outcome.