UK growth will slow to 1.3% amid Brexit uncertainty – KPMG

Slump in consumer spending and business investment likely to reduce chance of recovery

A sharp fall in consumer spending and business investment is expected to drag Britain's growth rate down to just 1.3% this year, dispelling hopes that the UK's sluggish rate of expansion in the first six months will recover in the second half of the year.

According to the consultancy KPMG, Brexit uncertainty will take a bigger toll on the economy than many forecasters, including the Bank of England, expect following a slump in consumer spending from 1.9% last year to 1.2% in 2018 and an even bigger drop in business investment, from 3.4% in 2017 to 0.8% this year.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a key government statistic and provides a measure of the UK's total economic activity.

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