UK GDP - last major indicator before general election - disappoints, below estimates
UK gross domestic product (GDP) grew less than it was forecast in the
first quarter at 0.3 percent, in the last major economic indicator
before Britain's general election in nine days' time.
The Office of National
Statistics' first forecast showed that GDP had risen 0.3 percent quarter on quarter,
below the estimate of 0.5 percent which analysts polled by Reuters expected.
The downbeat figure is a blow at U.K. Prime
Minister David Cameron, as he has made the strength of the economy an essential
part of his campaign ahead of a general election on May 7.
The British currency dropped to $1.5185 after the data.
David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne said in a response to the data that the economy was still growing but that the recovery could not be taken for granted.
