Britain's economy shrank slightly last month following June's vote to leave the European Union, according to a new report.
The country's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.2% in July compared to the same time last year, said the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).
Between April and June, the economy grew by only 0.3% in what has been described as a "marked economic slowdown".
The think-tank has warned there is a 50/50 chance of Britain falling into recession - two quarters in a row of falling GDP - over the next 18 months following the 23 June Brexit vote.
It predicts growth will hit 1.7% overall this year with a decline of 0.2% in the third quarter and risk of "further deterioration".
The NIESR's James Warren said: "The third quarter has got off to a weak start, with output declining in July.
"Our estimates suggest that there is around an evens chance of a technical recession by the end of 2017."
The Bank of England last week predicted the UK was set to avoid recession after it slashed the base rate of interest to 0.25% from 0.5% - the first rate reduction for more than seven years.
No comments:
Post a Comment