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| Business investment in worst run since 2009 | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Business investment has now declined for three quarters in a row, figures show, its worst run since the economic downturn of 2008 to 2009. | Business investment has now declined for three quarters in a row, figures show, its worst run since the economic downturn of 2008 to 2009. |
| The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said investment fell by 1.1% in the July to September period compared with the previous quarter. | The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said investment fell by 1.1% in the July to September period compared with the previous quarter. |
| However, separate ONS figures showed government borrowing fell in November. | However, separate ONS figures showed government borrowing fell in November. |
| Borrowing was £7.2bn last month, down £0.9bn from a year earlier and the lowest November figure for 14 years. | Borrowing was £7.2bn last month, down £0.9bn from a year earlier and the lowest November figure for 14 years. |
| Business investment comes from both private and public corporations and includes investments in transport, technology and buildings. | |
| Many major businesses, including Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Airbus and BMW, have all warned that Brexit threatens investment levels in UK business operations. | |
| Earlier this week, a host of British business groups criticised politicians for focusing on infighting rather than preparing for Brexit, warning that there is not enough time to prepare for a no-deal scenario. | |
| Also on Wednesday, the Bank of England cut its UK growth forecast and warned a lack of Brexit clarity is hitting the economy. | |
| The Bank said uncertainty over the UK's departure from the EU had "intensified considerably" over the past month. | |
| 'Strangers' | |
| In a raft of official releases on Friday, the ONS also issued the latest balance of payments figures. | |
| The ONS said the current account deficit - the difference between money flowing in and out of the UK - widened to £26.5bn in the third quarter. The figure was worse than expected and compares with a £20bn deficit in the previous three months. | |
| The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has previously warned that this large current account deficit leaves the country dependent on "the kindness of strangers". | |
| The ONS also confirmed the UK economy grew by 0.6% in the third quarter from the previous three months, the same as a previous estimate. | |
| Consumer concerns | |
| "The longer-term picture remains subdued and business investment has now fallen for three consecutive quarters," said ONS statistician Rob Kent-Smith. | |
| Mr Kent-Smith also noted that households had spent more than they received for an unprecedented eighth quarter in a row, raising questions about their ability to keep on spending and driving the country's economy. | |
| Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said consumers rather than business were keeping economic growth alive, but that could not last. | |
| "The recent deterioration in consumers' confidence and the pick-up in saving intentions suggests that growth in spending will slow in the near-term, even though real wages should start to rise at a faster rate," he said. | |
| "Accordingly, the latest national accounts do not inspire confidence that the economy will pull through the current political crisis unscathed." |