UK GDP 0.0 in Q3 vs Reuters poll 0.1
GDP in Sept 0.2 vs poll 0.0
Hunt promises measures to boost growth
Jobs and inflation data next week key for BoE

LONDON, Nov 10 Reuters Britain39;s stagnating economy failed to grow in the JulytoSeptember period but at least managed to avoid the start of a recession, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday.

The 0 change in gross domestic product in the third quarter was a touch better than a forecast for a 0.1 fall in a Reuters poll of economists, which many analysts said was likely to represent the start of a recession.

Paul Dales, chief economist with consultancy Capital Economics, said the fine details of the data showed GDP did decline by a marginal 0.02 even if the figure was rounded to show no change.

But the key point is that the economy is not weak enough to reduce core inflation and wage growth quickly, Dales said.

As such, we don39;t expect the Bank of England will be able to cut interest rates until late in 2024 rather than in mid2024 as widely expected.

James Smith at ING said the economy was saved from a contraction by net imports which are often volatile, while consumption and business investment fell.

The data from the Office for National Statistics is preliminary and may be subject to revision.

The BoE said last week it expected zero economic growth next year a tough backdrop for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who is widely expected to call a national election in 2024 but it kept…