Gross domestic product showed no growth in the July-September period, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.That beat market expectations for a contraction of 0.2 percent, but followed 0.2-percent expansion in the second quarter.
Hunt added that his budget statement on November 22, would “focus on how we get the economy growing healthily again”.“UK economy woes continue,” noted KPMG economist Yael Selfin. “Economic activity is continuing to slow as high interest rates are weighing on consumer sentiment and disposable incomes.“While real incomes have started to grow as inflation eases, this is being offset by higher mortgage rates feeding through into housing costs.
“Services dropped a little with falls in health, management consultancy and commercial property rentals. These were partially offset by growth in engineering, car sales and machinery leasing.” Rate hikes have worsened Britain’s cost-of-living squeeze because retail lenders follow suit by hiking the cost of repayments on mortgages and other loans.
Source: Financial Digest (financialdigest.net)