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Pound falls after UK economic growth forecast downgraded - YAHOO FINANCE
BY Vicky McKeever Business reporter
OBR's update comes as Rachel Reeves delivers spring statement
The pound fell as the UK's spending watchdog downgraded its forecast for economic growth this year, as chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the spring statement.
Sterling fell 0.4% to $1.2889 against the dollar (GBPUSD=X), after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said it now expected UK gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 1% in 2025.
In the OBR's October economic and fiscal outlook, the spending watchdog said it had expected the UK's economy to grow by 2% in 2025.
"I am not satisfied with these numbers and that is why we on this side of the House are serious about taking the action needed to grow our economy," Reeves said in her statement.
"Backing the builders not the blockers with a third runway at Heathrow airport and the planning and infrastructure bill, increasing investment with reforms to our pensions systems and a new national wealth fund, and tearing down regulatory barriers in every sector of our economy," she said. "That is a serious plan for growth, that is a serious plan to improve living standards, that is a serious plan to renew our country."
