"We're still concerned the U.K. economy is going to be pretty much flat throughout next year"
- James Shugg, an economist at Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC)
The UK economy emerged from its double-dip recession, posting the strongest growth in five years in the third quarter, boosted by the Olympic Games. British economy expanded 1.0% from the three months through June, above analysts' forecast of 0.6% growth. While the economy is showing signs of recovery, the Bank of England is now less likely to expand its economic stimulus in November.
"We're still concerned the U.K. economy is going to be pretty much flat throughout next year," James Shugg, an economist at Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC) in London, said on Thursday. "It all depends how rigidly determined the government is to stick to its deficit reduction plan."
"The positive 'surprise' in these figures is largely to be found in the service sector, which is estimated to have grown by 1.3% in the third quarter, after shrinking by 0.1% in the three months before," said said the BBC's economics editor Stephanie Flanders.
The FTSE 100 Index was unchanged at 5,805.05. The broader FTSE All-Share Index edged higher 0.13 per cent to 3,035.89.
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