Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, comments on the latest GDP figures for February from the ONS:
“Public sector strikes left economic growth flatlining in February, with industrial action by teachers and civil servants denting activity. There were strikes in the NHS and rail networks too, all of which had a knock on effect on businesses, with one in nine businesses saying they were either directly or indirectly impacted by industrial action.
“There were some bright spots in the economic landscape. Construction activity rose by 2.4% and hit its highest monthly level since records began in 2010. Leisure activity was helped by relatively warm weather, though benevolent climactic conditions also hit electric and gas output.
“The UK’s January GDP growth was revised up to 0.4%, which is a very decent showing. With February’s 0% growth neither adding nor subtracting from proceedings, that leaves the first quarter of the year on course to post positive economic growth, as long as March keeps its end up.
“The UK economy has been surprisingly resilient in the face of doom-laden projections from economic forecasters. The economy is by no means hitting it out of the park, but it has so far defied expectations and avoided recession. There are still plenty of threatening storm clouds on the global economic horizon, not least the effects of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the potential fall-out from turmoil in the banking sector. But so far in 2023, the UK economy has performed pretty well in spite of the challenges it faces.”
