Britain’s Hunt: GDP figures show there’s ‘no room for complacency’

LONDON (Reuters) – British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday there was no room for complacency in tackling low growth and high inflation after data showed the economy stagnated in February, hurt by strikes among public workers.

“The growth numbers show there is absolutely no room for complacency. Inflation is higher than we want, growth is lower than we want,” Hunt said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund (IMF) summit in Washington.

“But when it comes to the longer term prospects for the economy, what I’m hearing from my finance minister colleagues here in Washington is confidence in the resilience of the British economy, a belief that we’re on the right track.”

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James)