The British Chambers of Commerce on Friday downgraded its economic growth outlook citing weaker than expected expansion across most sectors, reflecting a general global slowdown.
In its Quarterly Economic Forecast, the BCC lowered its U.K. GDP growth forecast to 2.2 percent from 2.5 percent this year. For 2017, the lobby forecast 2.3 percent growth instead of 2.5 percent.
Lower than predicted actual growth in the fourth quarter of 2015, and downward revisions of earlier ONS figures for the first three quarters of 2015, also contributed to the downgrade, BCC said.
Nonetheless, services and consumer spending will remain the key growth drivers of the UK economy.
In 2018, the economy is expected to expand 2.4 percent. The agency projected 2018 outlook for the first time.
The lobby expects the Bank of England to hike its interest rate in the fourth quarter of this year to 0.75 percent from a record low 0.50 percent.
The unemployment rate is seen at 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and at 4.8 percent by the end of 2017.
Further, the lobby said the official timetable to achieve budgetary surplus in 2019/20 is slightly too ambitious. The budget is set to return to balance in 2019/20, but a move into surplus is only likely in 2020/21.
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