Published : Nov. 17, 2014 - 21:12
LONDON (AFP) ― Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday warned Britain’s economic recovery faced a “real risk” from instability in the world economy fuelled by Middle East unrest, Ebola, Ukraine and stalled trade talks.
In an article on The Guardian website that will appear in Monday’s edition of the newspaper after the G20 summit, Cameron said that “red warning lights are once again flashing on the dashboard of the global economy.”
He also said the eurozone was “teetering on the brink of a possible third recession” and pointed to “a dangerous backdrop of instability and uncertainty” in the world economy.
“Wider problems in the global economy pose a real risk to our recovery,” he said, adding: “We cannot insulate ourselves completely but we must do all we can to protect ourselves from a global downturn.”
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron. (Bloomberg)
Growth of the British economy slowed in the third quarter of this year, with gross domestic product rising 0.7 percent between July and September from output in the previous three months.
The economy had expanded by 0.9 percent during the second quarter, and by 0.7 percent in the first quarter.
But despite the slowdown, the British economy still looks more dynamic than the eurozone, where growth is sluggish and deflation threatens.
According to the European Commission’s autumn economic forecast, output in Britain will grow by about 3.1 percent this year, higher than a previous prediction of 2.7 percent, then 2.7 percent next year and 2.5 percent in 2016.
That contrasts with 0.8 percent for the 18-country eurozone, which is lower than a previous prediction of 1.2 percent.
The Bank of England last week trimmed its forecast for British growth, citing economic strains in the neighboring eurozone.
It forecast that GDP would expand 2.9 percent next year, down from a previous estimate of 3 percent.
The BOE still expects expansion of 3.5 percent this year.