A government report has highlighted that there is strong domestic demand in the UK economy, but external pressures still remain. The report, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), stated that the UK economy has seen strong domestic demand underpinning growth in the latest quarter.
The report highlighted that consumer spending was up 2.9% in the year to June 2019, while investment recovered from early-2019 lows to record positive growth of 0.7%.
However, the report flagged up that the UK’s exports of goods and services to the rest of the world fell in the year to June 2019 for the second consecutive quarter. It stated that this was “in part attributable to a slowdown in global trade over recent months”.
It also noted that the UK has experienced inflationary pressures for some time, with inflation reaching 2.1% in August, up from 1.5% at the start of 2019.
The report concluded that, overall, the UK economy “continues to face a range of external pressures that remain a challenge”. It also noted that the UK is “likely to continue to benefit from the effects of strong domestic demand”.