With new official figures confirming economic growth for the first quarter of the year was a modest 0.3%, economists variously described the recovery of UK manufacturing as elusive and fragile.
Commenting on today’s GDP data, Lee Hopley, chief economist at the manufacturers’ organisation EEF said that while revisions to previous data issued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had “revised away” the double-dip downturn and confirmed that the economy grew in the first quarter of this year, that was where the positive news ended.
“Output across the economy and manufacturing has made up less ground since the end of the recession than previously thought and signs of any sustained rebalancing towards trade and investment remain elusive,” she added.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said that despite the revisions, there were “worrying signs of steep falls in business investment and household incomes, which serve as a reminder to the government and Bank of England that much still needs to be done to get the UK economy back to health.”
He said that available information pointed to GDP growth approaching 0.5% in the three months to June but added, “However, other data within today’s release provides a reminder of the fragility of the economy, and especially business confidence. The economy is just 0.3% larger than a year ago, half the previous estimate.”
This material is protected by copyright Ken Hurst 2013.
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