UK Third Quarter GDP figures miss growth forecasts

UK GDP figures for Q3 have showed an expansion of 0.5%, below a forecast figure of 0.6%. Whilst the UK’s services sector showed strong expansion at 0.7% this was offset with a 3rd consecutive drop in manufacturing growth. With current sterling strength and lacklustre global demand for UK products we don’t feel the UK manufacturing sector is set to recover this year, however, we do believe the UK domestic market will continue to grow at a steady pace and the slight drop in Q3 GDP is not indicative of a slowing UK economy.