UK economy shows slight growth after Brexit

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – Britain’s economy has shown 0.5 percent growth in the three months following the Brexit vote, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday.

The gross domestic product (GDP) change for Quarter 3, which covers the period from July to September, was lower than Quarter 2 rates but up 2.3 percent from last year’s figures.

“The pattern of growth continues to be broadly unaffected following the EU referendum with a strong performance in the services industries offsetting falls in other industrial groups,” the office said.

The pound sterling has made slight gains against the euro and U.S. dollar according to live data obtained from exchangerates.org.uk, but still is at its lowest levels since 1985 after crashing following the Brexit vote in June.

The U.K. will trigger Article 50, which regulates the negotiations and timetable for a state to leave the European Union, by March 2017, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced earlier this month.