UK interest rate hikes to depend on Brexit talks

The June 2016 vote for Brexit has slowed down the UK economy in the first half of 2017. GDP rose 0.2% in the first quarter and 0.3% in the second quarter, down from 0.5% and 0.7% in the final two-quarters of last year, Oliver Mangan.

The growth rate in the UK has slipped below that of the US and the eurozone; they grew at double the rate of the UK in the first half of this year.

The performance of the UK is all the more disappointing, given the sharp fall of sterling, which should have provided a fillip to external trade.