LONDON: The latest snapshot of economic growth this week will heat up the debate about when the Bank of England will raise UK interest rates for the first time since the depths of financial crisis.
Economists predict official figures on Tuesday will show GDP growth bounced back in the second quarter after a new-year slowdown. Alongside fading worries about the Greek debt crisis and signs of rising living standards, any such recovery in headline growth could fan expectations that the Bank’s policymakers are readying to raise interest rates, perhaps even before the end of the year.
The data is expected to show the economy expanded by 0.7% between April and June, according to the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll. That would be close to the pace of growth at the end of last year and markedly higher than first-quarter growth of 0.4%.
