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Britain's quarterly growth rate "subdued": think tank

Xinhua, April 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Growth in the British economy is "subdued", the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said Friday, having recorded a 0.3-percent GDP growth in the three months to the end of March.

The disappointing data was down to poor production and manufacturing figures, James Warren, a research fellow at NIESR told Xinhua.

"In general, the index of production is still well below its pre-recession peak and that is also true for the index of manufacturing. Both of these have been a drag on GDP figures," Warren said.

The 0.3 percent growth rate for January to March is an improvement on the 0.2 percent recorded for December 2015 to February 2016. However, it is below the lowest rolling three-month figure for any month in 2015 and well below the highest figure of 0.7 percent.

The data series are volatile, and there are not enough data to forecast a marked slowdown in GDP growth in Britain.

Warren said: "It could just be volatility, we would need at least another quarter at least. But certainly the first three months of this year in terms of the rolling three-month growth rate have been subdued.

"It is quite disappointing growth rates, but growth rate nonetheless." Endit