New figures have shown the UK’s economy to grow at the slowest rate since 2012.
The Office for National Statistics revealed GDP growth to increase by just 0.1 percent in the first quarter of the year.
“Overall, the economy performed poorly in the first quarter, with manufacturing growth slowing and weak consumer-facing services,” said Rob Kent-Smith from the ONS.
The ONS has maintained the view that the Beast from the East had little impact on the economy with figures showing increased online sales and energy production during the colder period.
“While the bad weather had some impact on the economy, particularly in construction and some areas of retail, its overall effect was limited, with partially offsetting impacts in energy supply and online sales,” the ONS said.
John Hawksworth, the chief economist at PwC, remains more hopeful for the second quarter.
“We expect some recovery in the second quarter, with GDP growth of around 1.3 percent for 2018 as a whole,” he said.
The figures are likely to raise concerns for the British economy as it prepares to leave the EU.
“The Bank of England has been keen to stress that the weakness in the first quarter was temporary, while also pointing out that it has historically been prone to upwards revisions,” said David Cheetham, the chief market analyst at brokerage group XTB.
“Unfortunately for [governor Mark] Carney and his fellow Monetary Policy Committee members, there has been no such upwards revision today and while there’s still the final reading to come, it is unlikely we see much improvement there.”
The Bank of England has been hesitant raising interest rates this month following the weak first GDP estimate. Threadneedle Street said the effects of the cold weather snap were limited and the ONS said it had seen a longer-term pattern of slowing growth.
