U.K. Exports Help GDP Growth by 0.5%

“U.K. exports helped the economy resume growth in the first quarter and outweighed the biggest slump in company investment andconsumer spending in almost two years.

Exports rose 3.7 percent in the quarter and net trade added a record 1.7 percentage points to gross-domestic-product growth, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. Consumer spending dropped 0.6 percent and company investment plunged 4.4 percent. GDP rose 0.5 percent on the quarter and 1.8 percent from a year earlier, matching initial estimates.

The Bank of England and the government are counting on the pound’s weakness to help rebalance the economy toward manufacturing and exports. The drop in sterling since 2007 is fuelling a surge in inflation, dividing policy makers on whether to keep the benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.5 percent to nurture the recovery.”

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