A rise in consumer spending is helping drive economic growth, but a breakdown of the economic performance is likely to fuel fears that Britain is too reliant on consumer spending while trade struggles.
The largest increase in household spending for more than three years helped drive forward economic growth in the third quarter, but a steep fall in exports saw the UK’s trade deficit widen by more than half.
The Office for National Statistics’ second estimate of gross domestic product for the third quarter confirmed growth of 0.8%.
The overall economy is 2.5% below its pre-recession peak of early 2008.
Household spending rose for an eighth successive quarter, with the 0.8% increase the highest since the second quarter of 2010, as the recovery took hold.
However, exports fell 2.4%, the sharpest fall since the second quarter of 2011, while imports rose 0.4%.
The net trade deficit increased from £5.5 billion to £8.9bn over the period, the highest level since the third quarter of 2010.
Separate figures showing a 1.4% increase in business investment, which has been another cause for concern, appeared to provide some cause for optimism, though this was still 6.3% below the level of a year ago.
