The British economy unexpectedly lost momentum. In February, gross domestic product (GDP) stagnated compared to January, according to the ONS statistics office in London. At the beginning of the year, the British economy had grown by a revised 0.4 percent (previously 0.3 percent). Analysts had expected an increase of 0.1 percent for February.
In Great Britain, the data on economic performance are also reported monthly, which is different from Germany, where the data are only published quarterly. In a three-month comparison up to February, the development is somewhat better. As the statistical office also reported, British economic output increased slightly by 0.1 percent in this period.
The growth in economic output in February was surprisingly slowed down by developments in industrial companies. As the statistics authority further announced, industrial production fell by 0.2 percent month-on-month. Analysts, on the other hand, had expected growth of 0.2 percent. The January industrial production figure was also revised down, to a 0.5 percent decline. Services also recorded a weak development. Here, an index value for February showed a month-on-month decline of 0.1 percent.
