Europe Markets

The economy is going into 'a period of uncertainty': UK's Philip Hammond

Hammond: Economy going into a period of uncertainty due to Brexit
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Hammond: Economy going into a period of uncertainty due to Brexit

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond on Thursday characterized the U.K. economy as going through a "period of uncertainty" following the country's decision to leave the European Union.

"Our economy is fundamentally strong, but we are now going into a period of uncertainty because of the Brexit vote," Hammond said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."

He continued, "Our growth figures, our employment figures for the first half of this year have been revised upwards. We're probably going to be the highest growing G7 economy this year, but next year will be a slightly more turbulent period."

The U.K.'s Conservative Party gathered at its annual convention this week in Birmingham to discuss in part what a post-EU relationship could look like.

The sterling hit a 31-year low against the dollar this week following rhetoric of a potential hard-nosed approach to Brexit. The British pound experienced a small bump Wednesday after Prime Minister Theresa May warned of negative side effects of ultra-low interest rates.

The Chancellor also told CNBC he can't definitively say whether or not he will approve more quantitative easing.

"We will look at any case put to us by the Bank of England in the circumstances, and I approved a round of quantitative easing back at the beginning of August as a response to the shock that the economy had felt. But we are conscious of the impacts that quantitative easing has and we will use it carefully and cautiously," he said.

— Reuters and CNBC's Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.