UK manufacturing output pushes GDP up 0.6%, says thinktank
Manufacturers benefit from weaker pound and stronger global economy, according to analysis from the National Institute for Economic and Social Research
Richard Partington and Larry Elliott
Wed 10 Jan ‘18 11.03 GMT
The longest spell of rising output from Britain’s factories in 23 years has left the economy on course to record its fastest rate of growth since late 2016, one of the country’s leading thinktanks has forecast.
The National Institute for Economic and Social Research said it was pencilling in expansion in gross domestic product of 0.6% in the final quarter of 2017 – up from 0.4% in the previous three months and above the latest City estimates.
Amit Kara, the institute’s head of UK macroeconomic forecasting, said activity had picked up in the second half of 2017 following a weak start to the year in which GDP increased by just 0.3% in both of the first two quarters.
“The recovery has been driven by both the manufacturing and the service sectors, supported by the weaker pound and a buoyant global economy, while construction output continues to lag,” Kara said.
He added: “In November we had forecast final quarter GDP growth at 0.5% and as such today’s revised estimate suggests that activity has strengthened by more than we had previously anticipated.”
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/10/uk-manufacturing-output-rises-eighth-month-in-row