However, Zangana also sees some good news in the figures: “Business investment was higher than expected, while government spending also picked up by more than expected.
“However, it is worth mentioning that had inventories not picked up through the quarter, the economy would have stalled.”
He concluded: “Overall, a weak set of figures, highlighting the challenge that households are facing: weak pay growth that is not keeping up with inflation.
“What makes matters worse is that inflation is still rising, and this period of weakness could persist for some time.”
