British economy accelerates in second quarter: data

AFP - Britain’s economic growth picked up speed in the second quarter, official data confirmed yesterday, but economists expressed concern about the longer-term impact of Brexit.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.6 percent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a second estimate for April-June, which included the shock EU exit referendum towards the end.
That was unchanged from the initial estimate, and followed 0.4-percent expansion in the first quarter.

“The reporting period for this release covers quarter 2 and therefore includes data for a short period after the EU referendum,” the ONS said.
“There is very little anecdotal evidence at present to suggest that the referendum has had an impact on GDP in Quarter 2 2016,” the ONS added in a statement.

The latest second quarter growth number was in line with market expectations.
Britons had voted on June 23 to leave the European Union in a surprise vote that sent markets tumbling and the pound slumping in its initial aftermath.

“The vote for Brexit occurred too late in the (second) quarter to have a significant impact on growth,” said IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer. However, he also warned it would be a “considerable time” before the economy would expand by “anything like 0.6 percent” quarter-on-quarter.