British Chambers of Commerce has cut its growth forecasts for this year, 2015 and 2016, and described the downward revisions as an "ominous warning sign".
British Chambers of Commerce has cut its growth forecasts for this year, 2015 and 2016, and described the downward revisions as an "ominous warning sign".
In its latest forecasts, published today, British Chambers has cut its projection of UK gross domestic product growth this year from 3.2 per cent to three per cent, while noting this downwardly-revised prediction would represent the fastest expansion achieved by the economy since 2007.
British Chambers has reduced its growth forecast for 2015 from 2.8 per cent to 2.6 per cent and cut its prediction of expansion in 2016 from 2.5 per cent to 2.4 per cent.
Director-general John Longworth said that, while British Chambers welcomed the strong 2014 growth indicated by the forecast, he believed the downgraded forecast was an ominous warning sign.
British Chambers urged the Coalition Government to "waste no time in addressing key areas that are holding back good firms, such as access to capital to grow their business".
Mr Longworth said: "Downgrades to our growth forecast are a warning sign that we still face a number of hurdles to securing a balanced and sustainable recovery. A number of headwinds from the global economy are also having a real impact on British businesses.
"The eurozone is weak, with a real risk of deflation, growth in emerging markets has slowed and political uncertainty in Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere is affecting business and consumer confidence."
David Kern, chief economist at British Chambers, said: "Our GDP forecasts are slightly lower than in Q3, but overall the prospects are still positive. Although we expect a slowdown in the pace of expansion, UK growth in the foreseeable future will be stronger than in the eurozone, including in Germany and France."
He added: "In the short term, the main concern for the UK is a continuation of the slowdown in recent months. A deceleration in growth may be unavoidable, given the weaker trends in the global economy, particularly in the eurozone. However, it is important to counter the impact of these downward pressures by maintaining low interest rates and pro-business policies, in order to minimise the risk of the recovery stalling."
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