New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests that the UK economy grew slightly in the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, albeit at an incredibly slow rate.
According to the figures, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.1 per cent in the three months to March – the weakest quarterly growth rate on record for six years.
In fact, the reading is 0.2 per cent below the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) prediction of 0.3 per cent.
Analysis of the data carried out by the ONS and the CBI points towards the ‘poor weather’ throughout the first three months of the year as the key reason for the slowdown in growth.
According to the ONS’ commentary, the retail and construction sectors were hit hard by reduced footfall and poor weather – which is likely to have pushed down growth.
Estimates suggest that if it were not for ‘the beast from the east’, growth would likely have been in the region of 0.3 to 0.4 per cent.
The new data comes at a time when the Bank of England (BoE) has voiced concerns that the British economy has hit a “temporary soft patch.”
The comments, which were made at its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting yesterday, came alongside a decision to hold interest rates at 0.5 per cent.
At the meeting, the BoE also cut its growth forecast for the year from 1.8 per cent to 1.4 per cent.