Kevin Brown, savings specialist at Scottish Friendly, has commented on this morning's GDP figures for Scotland

“While January’s 0.5% growth in Scottish GDP is a welcome improvement on previous months, the reality is that this data set is already feeling out of date to the point of being borderline irrelevant.

“The global economy has been turned on its head in the past few weeks. War in the Middle East has sent energy prices soaring, which has led to a spike in mortgage rates for homeowners here in the UK. That is heaping fresh pressure on households, which are facing the prospect of a fresh bout of inflation as a result of the conflict. If that happens, consumers will likely tighten their belts, which is problematic for economies like ours, which rely heavily on consumer spending.

“The concern is also that the conflict will have a deep and negative impact on key exports such oil, whisky and salmon, which could face disruption if ships remain fearful of passing through critical transit points such as the Strait of Hormuz.

“In this environment, predicting the future is near impossible. Therefore, households should focus on things they can control. That means shopping around for the best energy deals, savings account and mortgage rate to make sure their finances are as resilient as possible to withstand a prolonged shock to the global economy.”