Weak growth ‘can’t all be pinned on bad weather’

ALMOST all parts of Britain’s economy slowed down in the first three months of the year, official figures have confirmed, with investment falling and exports failing to give growth a much-needed boost.

Only part of the slump was weather-related, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, raising fears that there could be an underlying slowdown in the economy.

GDP increased by 0.1pc in the first three months of the year, officials confirmed in their second estimate of the data, down from 0.4pc in the final quarter of 2017 and the slowest pace since 2012.

GDP per person did not grow in the quarter. “Taking together the forces of Brexit uncertainty, softening indicators in overseas markets and consumers that have yet to regain their mojo, it is hard to see what will spur some renewed momentum in the economy over the next couple of quarters,” said Lee Hopley, chief economist at manufacturing industry group EEF.

Construction output dived by 2.7pc, though this is less extreme than the 3.3pc drop estimated initially.

Household spending growth slowed to 0.2pc in the quarter, adding to the retail sector’s woes.

Business investment fell 0.2pc. Both exports and imports fell, with the result that net trade added nothing to GDP in the quarter.

The services industry, which makes up a dominant share of the economy, expanded by 0.3pc.

Business services and finance led the way at 0.4pc, a rate matched by transport, storage and communications. But the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector was hit by the bad weather and contracted by 0.1pc.

An anticipated rebound in oil and gas production was underwhelming. The industrial category, mining and quarrying grew by 2.2pc, revised down from an earlier estimate of 3.5pc.

“While the bad weather had some impact on the economy, particularly in construction and some areas of retail, its overall effect was limited, with partially offsetting impacts in energy supply and online sales,” the ONS said.