Figures signal strong growth on the horizon

The past week has seen a raft of very strong data published on the economy.

The highlight was the national accounts data for the first quarter of the year. These showed GDP up by 4.1% and GNP rising by 3.4% year-on-year.

Every GDP expenditure component, including personal consumption and government spending, registered positive annual growth, with a strong rise of 7.4% in exports. Business investment was very robust, increasing 40% year-on-year, while construction spending rose 8.8%.