The publication today of preliminary data for GDP growth in the UK between July and September shows better than predicted growth at 0.8% for the quarter.
Many economists were forecasting that growth would slow to around 0.4% for the quarter, following the 1.2% growth the British economy experienced in the previous quarter.
Compared to the same quarter last year, the preliminary data shows that gross domestic product increased by 2.8%.
The growth this quarter was driven by the construction sector which grew at 4%. This is the highest rate of quarterly growth for the construction sector since 1988.
The manufacturing and service sectors also put in solid figures with growth of 0.6% for the three months to the end of September 2010.
Hopefully these figures will ease some concerns about the risk of a ‘double-dip’ recession. The figures could also be enough to deter the Monetary Policy Committee from extending their asset purchase programme, although we still feel it is unlikely that interest rates will increase any time soon.
It is important to remember that this is only preliminary data for the quarter and we could still see the figures revised downwards as more data becomes available.
Photo courtesy of sirqitous.
