Alan Clarke, head of European fixed income at Scotiabank, said likened the slowdown in GDP figures to being held up by traffic PAGrowth in the economy slowed markedly in the first three months of this year in a sign that consumers are beginning to cut back on spending at a time of rising prices. The economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter, in a noticeable slowdown from 0.7 per cent growth in the final three months of 2016, according to the first estimate of growth by the Office for National Statistics. Markets had been expecting GDP growth of 0.4 per cent and policymakers at the Bank of England had said in their March meeting that they expected 0.6 per cent. Alan Clarke, head of European fixed income at Scotiabank, said: “To put the pace of growth into context, this is like driving away for…

Source: The Times April 28, 2017 10:52 UTC