UK Growth Slows to 0.4% Amid Iran War
UK Growth Slows to 0.4% Amid Iran War
The News
Britain's economy grew 0.4% between April and June, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday, a slowdown from 0.6% in the first quarter as the Iran war drove energy prices up.
The quarter ended stronger than forecast: the ONS said the economy unexpectedly grew 0.3% in the month of June alone, according to Reuters.
That followed a much weaker May, when monthly growth was just 0.1% — a rise The Sun reported was aided by services and pharmaceuticals.
Timeline
The UK economy grows 0.6%, the stronger quarter that the new figures fall short of.
Monthly growth slows to 0.1%, helped along by services and pharmaceuticals.
The economy grows 0.3% on the month — an unexpected gain, the ONS told Reuters.
The ONS publishes second-quarter GDP: 0.4% growth for April through June.
Reactions
Sky News framed the numbers as a slowdown with a silver lining, reporting that growth cooled but the economy "remained resilient despite the Iran war."
The Daily Mail cast the figures as political trouble, saying they pile pressure on Andy Burnham's pledge to deliver "growth in every postcode."
The Sun focused on households, tying the slowdown directly to the Iran war pushing up energy prices and what that means for family budgets.
What's Next
The immediate question is how much further the Iran war's effect on energy prices feeds through to British households and output in the second half of the year.
Politically, the pressure lands on Burnham's growth promise, which the new figures undercut.
More
Why it matters to Americans: the same war-driven energy costs squeezing Britain's growth move through global markets, and the UK is a bellwether for how allied economies absorb the shock. Five outlets across the political spectrum — from Reuters and Sky News to The Sun and the Daily Mail — reported the same ONS numbers, with the split coming over whether "resilient" or "slowing" is the better word.
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