Britains Economy grew by a faster than expected 0.5% in the last quarter, bringing rolling annual growth up to 1.8%. However, this was largely due to Manufacturers stockpiling raw materials as a precaution against hard Brexit, and is not a true reflection of underlying growth. Nice numbers which are only just below the Pre Financial Crisis trend but they came at a cost. Due to higher imports of the aforementioned, the trade deficit 9the difference between what we import and export) more than doubled, from £8.9bn to £18.3bn. This is quite worrying as the lower value of Sterling should have given an export boost. Maybe its too early to get excited about these numbers and quarter two may make slightly bleaker reading.
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