ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK HAS CONTRIBUTED TO A RISE IN GDP?
JONATHAN LOYNES | CAPITAL ECONOMICS
“The breakdown looks set to reveal a weak contribution from household spending after the slowdown in retail sales growth in the fourth quarter. With net trade also weak, stockbuilding, investment and government spending may have driven the exit from recession.”
PHILIP SHAW | INVESTEC
“ONS figures showed industrial production rising by a relatively chunky 0.5 per cent in December. On its own, this would add around 0.1 per cent to economic growth over the fourth quarter. The detail accompanying the headline figures will also be of interest, especially the household consumption data.”
PETER DIXON | COMMERZBANK
The contribution of net trade appears to have been negative and the surge in investment in the third quarter is unlikely to be repeated. The inventory component is still the wild card and if the UK proves to be anything like the US, we should be prepared for a positive contribution from stockbuilding.”