UK economic growth improves in second quarter
Data released by the Office for National Statistics today shows that the UK economy grew by an impressive 1.2% in the second quarter of 2010 and the earlier growth figure of 0.3% for the first quarter of 2010 was revised higher to 0.4%. It seems that the UK economy has benefited from savers dipping into their funds and the UK government introducing a number of spending plans just prior to austerity measures kicking in.
However, before we get carried away and expect the UK economy to move on to bigger and better things in the short to medium term, many analysts have poured cold water on these hopes. It still seems almost inevitable the UK economy will slow down in the latter part of 2010 although whether it actually dips into negative territory remains to be seen. The initial data from the Office for National Statistics led to an increase in sterling on the international currency exchanges although whether this is a short lived knee-jerk reaction remains to be seen.
The truth is that we need to ready ourselves for a very difficult economic period in the short to medium term which could, while still unlikely, lead to a double-dip recession.
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