UK economy is ‘subdued’... ... but the US is still booming

BRITAIN’S economy grew by just 0.3pc in the second quarter of the year, only slightly faster than the 0.2pc expansion in the first quarter, a report has revealed

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said the economy remains ‘subdued when compared with last year’.

The assessment is more pessimistic than that by rival group IHS Markit, which estimated second-quarter growth of 0.5pc earlier this week. Separate figures from the Office For National Statistics showed factory output fell 0.2pc in May while construction output was down 1.2pc.

On a more upbeat note, the ONS said exports of goods and services hit a record high in the three months to May.

But with imports also on the rise, Britain’s trade deficit widened from £6.9bn in the three months to February to £8.9bn in the three months to May.

AMERICAN firms went on a hiring spree last month in a sign of confidence in the US economy, official figures showed.

So-called non-farm payrolls – a key measure of the health of the world’s biggest economy – jumped by 222,000 in June.

The unemployment rate also rose, however, from 4.3pc to 4.4pc, but this was seen as a further cause for optimism because it was driven by an increase in the number of Americans looking for work.

Unemployment in the UK is also low, at 4.6pc, while it remains painfully high in the eurozone at 9.3pc.

Analysts said the upbeat US jobs figures should be enough to persuade the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again this year following three hikes since December.

Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics, said that the ‘only disappointment’ was that wages grew by just 0.2pc in June.