Economy growth beats the forecasts

THE economy beat forecasts to post growth of 0.3 per cent in the three months to February.

Growth was driven by a solid performance from the dominant services sector – which includes everything from retail to investment banking – with particularly strong figures in the IT industry.

Manufacturing has also bounced back from a poor end to 2018, according to the Office for National Statistics. It comes as a slowdown hits the eurozone, with Germany forecast to grow just 0.8 per cent this year following a slump in demand for diesel cars and a crackdown on world trade by US President Donald Trump.

Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte, said: ‘ The UK is proving more resilient than expected in the face of a global slowdown and Brexit headwinds.

‘The pace of growth could be choppy, but the UK is likely to grow at about the same pace as the euro area this year.’

The manufacturing sector is thought to have been helped by stockpiling as factories set aside goods so they can continue to serve customers even if international trade is disrupted by Brexit.

Ruth Gregory, of Capital Economics, said: ‘The solid growth rate... should ease immediate fears of the economy stalling or contracting in the first quarter and provides support to our view that the economy is well placed to cope with whatever Brexit throws up next.’