UK DATA: Q1 Preliminary GDP -0.2% q/q; unch. y/y
————————————————————————
The UK economy fell back into recession in the Q1, construction
output fell sharply and services growth reamined weak. While the Bank of
England have been keen to point out they believe growth will be
articificially lower in Q1, pulled down by weak construction, these
figures show more widespread weakness with output rising only slightly
in the service sector. GDP fell 0.2% q/q and was unch y/y below the
median for a 0.1% rise q/q. Construction output plunged 3% but while the
BOE can point to construction as a possible abberation in the data,
concerns remain over the strength of the service sector where output
rose just 0.1% in Q1 q/q. The Bank of England is likely to continue to
believe underlying growth in the economy is stronger than the data
suggest but this outturn has come in 0.7 percentage point below their
February forecast for a rise of 0.5% on the quarter.