“We are raising our 2017 and 2018 GDP growth forecasts for the UK” - HSBC

The Research Team at HSBC bank came out with its latest report on the UK economic growth outlook on Friday.

Key Quotes from the report:

“We are raising our 2017 and 2018 GDP growth forecasts for the UK, following the upward revision of Q4 GDP growth, from an already strong 0.6% to 0.7% q-o-q. We now see full-year growth of 1.9% (up from 1.2%) for this year, and 1.4% for 2018 (from 1.3%).”

“We have not changed our view that growth will slow meaningfully in sequential terms this year. But the UK clearly entered 2017 on a stronger footing than we expected in our last forecasting round. And, for now, the global cyclical upswing seems to be mitigating the downside risks.”

“Bank of England still on hold We have not changed our forecasts for the currency, inflation or real wages: we still think inflation will push higher in the near term, but fall back quite sharply next year.”

“We also retain our view that the Bank of England will not raise rates this year or next, as inflation remains exchange-rate driven (and not demand-driven) and the political and growth climates remain uncertain.”