Sterling falls to 2 month low against the dollar
The UK currency is again under pressure after revised gross domestic product figures fell short of economist's expectations within 0.2% contraction in the UK economy in the third quarter against expectations of a 0.1% reduction. While the consensus opinion is that the UK will move out of recession in the final quarter of 2009 there is concern at the sluggish performance of the economy over the last quarter.
While there was a revision of growth figures in the construction industry, these were offset by a weaker than expected performance elsewhere, with the vital services industry disappointing. As we mentioned in one of our earlier articles, there is also growing speculation that the Bank of England is looking to inject more capital into the quantitative easing program in early 2010, if the UK economy is not back into growth territory.
Even though it is reassuring to know that the Bank of England has back-up the plans in place, should the economy take a nosedive, it is concerning to think that there are those within the Bank of England who feel this may be required. The public noises from the political scene and the Bank of England have been positive of late but we now need to see this positive opinion reflected in future economic performance figures.
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