The Bank of England cut its growth forecast for this year and next, even if there is a smooth transition to Brexit HANNAH MCKAY / REUTERSGrowth this year will slow to its weakest pace since the recession as escalating Brexit uncertainty takes a damaging toll on the economy even if a deal is agreed with the European Union, the Bank of England has warned. The Bank slashed its growth forecast for this year from 1.7 per cent to 1.2 per cent, the worst since 2009 when the economy contracted by 4.2 per cent. Its projections suggest that there is a near one-in-four chance that the economy will be shrinking by the summer. Growth for next year has also been cut from 1.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent but raised in 2021 from 1.7 per cent to 1.9 per cent. The forecasts are based on a smooth transition to a…

Source: The Times February 07, 2019 12:22 UTC