ECONOMIC INDICATORS - UK

● GDP grew by 0.6% in Q4 2007. This compares to 0.7% in the previous quarter. The level of GDP is now 2.9% higher than Q4 2006. For the year 2007 as a whole GDP rose by 3.1% over 2006, up from 2.9% in the previous year.

● CPI annual inflation was 2.2% in January 2008, up from 2.1% in December. RPI inflation rose to 4.1% in January, up from 4% in December.

● In January 2008, output price annual inflation for all manufactured products rose to 5.7%. Input price

annual inflation rose from 12.2% in December to 19.1% in January.

● Manufacturing output decreased by 0.1% in Q4 2007 compared with Q3.

● Services output rose by 0.6% in the quarter to December 2007 compared with the quarter to September.

● In Q4 2007, Services Producer Price Index (SPPI) inflation was 2.9%, unchanged from the previous quarter.

● In January 2008, the public sector showed a surplus on current budget of £17.0 billion, compared with a surplus of £14.8 billion in January 2007.

● Employment rate for people of working age was 74.7% for the three months to December 2007. The number of people in employment for the three months to December 2007 was 29.40 million. This is up 175,000 over the quarter and up 296,000 over the year. The unemployment rate was 5.2%, down 0.2% over the previous quarter and down 0.3% over the year. The number of unemployed people decreased by 61,000 over the quarter and by 86,000 over the year to reach 1.61 million.

● Average earnings including bonuses rose by 3.8% in the year to December 2007, down from 4% in November. Average earnings excluding bonuses, rose by 3.7% in the year to December 2007, up from 3.6% in November. In the year to December 2007 pay growth (including bonuses) in the private sector was 4%, compared with 3.3% for the public sector. Excluding bonus payments, private sector growth stood at 3.7% compared with 3.6% for the public sector.

● In the year to December 2007 consumer prices increased by 2.1%.

● The retail sales volume in the three months November to January rose by 0.6% compared with the previous three months. This follows 0.5% growth in the three months to December.

● During October to December 2007, the number of visits overseas by UK residents decreased by 2% to 17.5 million when compared with the previous three months, while the associated spending increased by 1% to £8.9 billion. Over the same period, number of visits to the UK by overseas residents, increased by 3% to 8.3 million when compared with the previous three months. Spending by overseas residents on visits to the UK increased by 3% to £4.2 billion.

● During the 12 months to December 2007 visits by overseas residents to the UK rose by 1%, from 32.7 million to 32.9 million. In the same 12 month period, visits abroad by UK residents increased by 1%, from

69.5 million to 70.1 million.

● Business investment for Q4 2007 is estimated to be 1.7% higher than the same period of last year, and 0.5% lower than the previous quarter.

● The UK's deficit on trade in goods and services was £4.7 billion in December 2007, compared with a revised deficit of £4.8 billion in November (previously published at £4.4 billion). The deficit with the EU was £3.5 billion, virtually the same as in November and the deficit with non-EU countries narrowed to £4.1 billion compared with a deficit of £4.4 billion in November.

Reprinted with permission from BABI London