The UK has avoided recession with 0.1% GDP growth in Q1 despite woes about the cost of living crisis and soaring rates of inflation.
“There’s nothing particularly surprising to be learnt from this set of figures. The UK has limped through the first few months of the year thanks to a surprisingly resilient consumer market and what is likely to have been a rush by businesses to make the most of generous tax breaks on investment before they came to an end,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
“But warning signs are already flashing madly, with household disposable income further eroded by the constant pain of price rises and fewer people with the ability to put a bit away for a rainy day or take advantage of the interest rate hikes which are causing such misery for so many.
“With hundreds of thousands of mortgage holders about to be clobbered by increased monthly payments there’s little doubt the service sector is in for a rough ride.”
UK housing prices surpisinginlgy rose in the month to June according to data from Nationwide.