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UK economy flatlines in the third quarter
We shouldn’t make too much of the fact that the UK economy performed a little better than expected in the third quarter. The level of real GDP was flat relative to the second quarter, compared to consensus and our own expectation of a 0.1% decline. The details reveal that the economy was rescued by net imports, a category that tends to be pretty volatile between quarters. Other key areas – notably consumption and business investment – were negative on the quarter. But we also have to remember that it’s been a fairly wild few months for several key sub-sectors of the GDP figures. June saw a massive 0.7% rise ... (full story)