Mark Tran writes: It has been a chocker-block week for economic data. Today the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released economic growth figures for the first three months of 2005.
The economy grew 0.6% for the first quarter despite a slowdown in consumer spending. This took the annual growth rate to 2.8%, its weakest in more than a year, but still very solid numbers.
Today's growth data, combined with yesterday's sales figures - an unexpected drop of 0.1% from February to March - make it less likely that the Bank of England will raise interest rates above the current 4.75% at its May meeting.
Yet inflationary pressures are building up. Earlier in the week, the ONS reported that consumer price inflation rose to a seven-year high of 1.9% in March, so the Bank is walking a fine line between rising inflation and a slowdown in household spending.
All this heightening economic uncertainty is occurring as Labour is blowing its own trumpet on its economic record - low unemployment, sustained economic growth and so on - on the campaign trail. But as the economy heads into rougher waters, Gordon Brown may well rue the claim that Labour has ended the policies of boom-and-bust.
Mark Tran is business editor of Guardian Unlimited
