LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling weakened on Monday after data showed that Britain’s economy last year grew at its slowest since 2012, with Brexit uncertainty hitting investment and the slowdown accelerating at the end of 2018.
The October-to-December quarterly numbers followed other data in recent weeks that painted a picture of a UK economy slowing into 2019, as businesses and consumers grow increasingly nervous about Britain’s departure from the European Union.
Gross domestic product growth in the final quarter of 2018 fell to a quarterly rate of 0.2 percent from 0.6 percent in the previous quarter - in line with the average forecast in a Reuters poll but slightly weaker than the Bank of England estimated last week.
For 2018 as a whole, growth dropped to its lowest since 2012 at 1.4 percent, down from 1.8 percent in 2017.
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