OECD revises UK GDP growth forecast up to 1.2% for 2018
The UK economy is set to grow at a faster rate than expected next year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Tuesday, as it warned that economic growth will be stunted by Brexit.
The Paris-based organisation forecast that the rate of economic growth would be 1.2% for 2018, in comparison with the 1% it forecast earlier this year.
In its latest set of projections, the OECD said growth for this year would be at 1.5%, slightly down from its previous forecast of 1.6%.
In 2019, the OECD said annual growth will fall as low as 2019 as the effects of the UK’s departure from the EU become clearer.
The organisation said that its projections assumed that an exit deal would be agreed between the UK and EU ahead of March 2019.
"Prospects of maintaining the closest possible economic relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union would further support economic growth," the OECD said.
Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam said that despite the upward revision for 2018 the slowdown in growth was a cause of concern.
"While the net revision may be positive, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this still means we’re headed for a period of slowing growth at a time when other countries prospects are looking much brighter, which was also reflected in the OECD’s latest forecasts," Erlam said.