Key Statistics: 30th October 2012

Construction

• The ONS announced that the UK moved out of recession in the third quarter, GDP grew by 1% between Q2 and Q3. However the good news is overshadowed by the performance of the construction industry; output is estimated to have fallen by 2.5% in Q3 compared to Q2, or 10% compared to the same period of 2011.
• Data from the Bank of England showed that lending for home purchases fell to £5.7bn in September, down from £5.8bn in August, lending for remortgaging increased to £2.8bn from £2.5bn in August. The data come at a time when the market is expecting at least some impact from the Banks Funding for Lending Scheme in boosting loans for house purchases. The data did show that the net flow of consumer credit increased to £1.2bn in September from £-0.1bn in August in a sign that the FLS might be beginning to have some effect.

UK Economy

• Other data from the preliminary GDP release showed that output in the production industries increased by 1.1% between Q2 and Q3 and output in the service industries increased by 1.3% over the same period. National statisticians put the return to growth down to a number of factors including the impact of the Olympic Games.
• The CBI reported manufacturing orders fell in the three months to October while output was flat, commenting “Domestic and overseas demand have both slipped unexpectedly this quarter, while output growth has tailed off. Sentiment regarding business conditions has also fallen back, particularly for exports. UK companies are increasingly concerned by political and economic conditions abroad.” However a +12% balance expect a moderate recovery in manufacturing output in the next three months.