Britain’s economy shrugged off the uncertainty surrounding June’s referendum vote to leave the European Union and maintain the best performance among the world’s leading economies with growth of 0.5% in the three months since the poll. Hammond said the figures demonstrated the resilience of the UK economy, which was “well-placed” to deal with the challenges and opportunities created by the EU referendum. The 0.5% rise beat the latest forecasts from Bank of England policymakers, who were predicting at the time of the August inflation report that third quarter growth would come in at 0.1%. “We can’t yet say what impact Brexit will have on our economy, but these figures show there’s no room for complacency. The relative resilience of the UK economy since the Brexit vote on 23 June has largely been attributed to a willingness among consumers to keep spending, as well as strength in the services sector.

Source: The Guardian October 27, 2016 18:55 UTC