...but it’s not all good news as fears grow over economy

The pound fell sharply yesterday amid fresh fears for the economy. A flurry of data added to concerns that growth had slowed to a crawl. Manufacturers saw output fall 0.2% last month, while construction suffered a 1.2% drop, said the Office for National Statistics. The ONS also revealed Britain’s trade gap widened by £1billion to £3.1bn in May. Meanwhile, mortgage lender the Halifax said annual house price growth slowed to 2.6% in June, the weakest rate for four years. Sterling fell 0.7% to $1.28 against the dollar on the back of the numbers. TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “With investment low, and disposable income falling, it’s hard to see where the impetus for stronger growth will come from without government action.” The economy grew just 0.2% in the first three months of 2017. Experts are divided on how it fared in the three months to June. Pantheon Macroeconomics reckoned it grew 0.2% again but consultants Capital Economics thinks it doubled to 0.4%.