Chancellor Philip Hammond plans to take action to support economy

Chancellor Philip Hammond said on Wednesday that he will work with the Bank of England to take whatever action was needed to support the economy post Brexit, Reuters reported.

Hammond made the statement after official figures showed the economy grew faster than expected at 0.6% quarter-on-quarter for the three months ending in June. However, the data covers the period before the outcome of the UK's European Union referendum on 24 June and economists polled by Reuters last week predict an upcoming recession.

"Today's GDP figures show that the fundamentals of the British economy are strong ... so it is clear we enter our negotiations to leave the EU from a position of economic strength," said Hammond.

"Those negotiations will signal the beginning of a period of adjustment and along with the Bank of England, this government will take whatever action is necessary to support our economy," he added.

Managing director at UFX Dennis de Jong commented on the GDP figures released on Wednesday: “Chancellor Philip Hammond will be fully aware that the second quarter numbers released today only includes a week of data following the historic vote to leave the EU, and much has changed since.”