The UK economy grew by 2.6 per cent during 2014, the fastest growth for seven years, rising from 1.7 per cent in 2013.
However, official figures indicate that the pace of growth slowed towards the end of last year. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show that the economy increased by 0.5 per cent in the final quarter of 2014, a slowdown of 0.2 per cent on the previous three months.
Economists are unsure if the slowdown is temporary or likely to be prolonged. Chief economist of the ONS, Joe Grice, said that it was too early to be sure if the slowdown is likely to last. Whilst the services sector is strong, construction, mining and energy supply sectors have contracted, he added.
According to chief investment officer at Close Brothers Asset Management, Nancy Curtin however, the figure for the last quarter of 2014 shows that the economy is definitely slowing.
The services sector increased by 0.8 per cent in the fourth quarter but construction contracted by 1.8 per cent. Manufacturing’s performance was its worse since the first quarter of 2013, growing by just 0.1 per cent.
However, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said that the economy was on track and that the figures from the ONS bore this out. He went on to warn that as the international economy is worsening, Britain must continue with its own economic strategy.
Despite the slowdown at the end of the year, the ONS figures show that Britain has one of the strongest performing economies in the world today. The overall economic growth figure for the US is soon to be published and is estimated to be 2.4 per cent.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that UK growth for this year, 2015, will be 2.7 per cent.
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