LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The UK economy stagnated in the final three months of 2019 and grew 1.4 percent during the year, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, or NIESR, said Monday.
The economy is on course to post zero growth in the fourth quarter of 2019, the think tank said in its monthly GDP tracker report.
The NIESR also tentatively forecast service sector-driven growth of 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2020.
Earlier on Monday, data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the UK economy grew by 0.1 percent in the three months to November.
Citing recent surveys, the NIESR said that economic activity was likely 'little changed in December, though there is some evidence of an improvement in business sentiment after the election.'
'While there is some evidence of an improvement in business optimism following the general election, it is doubtful that this will do much to change the short-term economic outlook of further lackluster growth,' Garry Young, director of macroeconomic modelling and forecasting at NIESR, said.
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