UK economy beats forecast

THE British economy grew more rapidly than expected in January as shoppers kept spending and firms stockpiled goods ahead of Brexit.

Growth was 0.5pc, better than the 0.2pc expected by economists, driven by a stronger performance in services, which includes everything from retail to banking.

There was also heavy demand at wholesalers, thought to be driven by firms buying extra products ahead of possible disruption should we leave the EU without a deal.

Alastair Neame, of economics group Cebr, said: ‘Wholesalers will have benefited from continued stockpiling in January following the Government failure to win a vote on the Brexit withdrawal.’

Growth for the three months to January was more subdued, largely because of a tough December.

The economy grew only 0.2pc in the period, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Separate ONS figures show Britain imported £10.4bn more goods and services than it exported in the three months to January, up £1.3bn on the previous month. This deficit leaves the country reliant on overseas nations and means household spending ends up as profits for foreign firms.