The United Kingdom exchange traded fund (ETF) remains range bound as the economy comes to a crawl. Observers are noting that the government’s attempt at reining in debt has been inefficient and only served to restrain economic growth.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), Britain’s economy expanded by 0.2% during the second quarter, reports Louis Makiello for The Epoch Times.
Industrial output diminished by 1.4%, and construction and service sectors both inched up 0.5%.
The ONS postulates that the extra bank holidays surrounding the Royal wedding date may have negatively affected production. However, the service industry benefited from the good weather and added holidays.
“The positive news is that the British economy is continuing to grow and is creating jobs,” said Chancellor George Osborne. “And it is positive news too that, at a time of real international instability, we are a safe haven in the storm. Our economy is stable at this time because this government has taken the difficult decisions to get to grips with Britain’s debts.”
Critics, though, have voiced dissatisfaction with the recent tax hikes and public spending cuts.
Osborne contends that “abandoning that now, as some argue we should, would only risk British jobs and growth.” He points out that austerity measures and tax increases are necessary to reduce the deficit.
However, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber recently stated, “the treatment has turned out to be worse than the disease, and with the government borrowing more last month than they did a year ago, they are not even tackling the deficit effectively.”
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Max Chen contributed to this article.