Household Spending Buoyed Economy Before EU Referendum, GDP Figures Show
Consumers appear to have driven growth in Britain at a time when it was predicted referendum jitters would result in a downturn.
Friday 26 August 2016 12:35, UK
The UK economy grew by 0.6% between April and June despite predictions of a pre-Brexit impact, figures released by the Office for National Statistics show.
Experts had expected the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to see a decline thanks to the uncertainty in the run-up to the June 23 referendum vote, but industrial production and household spending seem to have buoyed the economy over the period.
The 0.6% figure was predicted in a preliminary look at Britain's finances in late July, and has been borne out by Friday's more detailed analysis.
Household spending was up 0.9% in what was the second quarter of the year, an increase from the 0.7% registered in Quarter 1.
It marked the biggest increase in annual terms since before the beginning of the financial crisis, with a 3% jump over the year.
The statistics echo a new YouGov/Cebr survey which shows that consumer confidence grew at its fastest rate in over three years in August - although it did see a slump for the month of July following the unexpected vote to leave the EU.
Industrial production saw its strongest performance since 2009, rising 2.9% between April and June compared to a 0.2% decline in the first three months of the year.
Business investment also increased, jumping by 0.5% despite widespread expectations of a decline following a disappointing performance in the first three months of the year.
Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte, said the figures bode well for the British economy going forward.
"Household spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of the economy and is growing at the fastest rate in eight years," he said.
"We see few signs that Brexit has derailed the consumer recovery."