Britain's ONS to publish market-sensitive releases at 0700 GMT

LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - Britain's Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it would will publish market-sensitive releases such as economic growth, employment and inflation data at 0700 GMT rather than the usual time of 0930 GMT in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The data will be released without a "lock in" briefing for journalists to see the statistics prior to their publication, as the ONS said that the developing pandemic made "the continuation of secure briefings no longer possible".

"Only market-sensitive releases that were published alongside a lock in briefing are affected by this process change. All other statistics will continue to be published at 09:30 as usual," the ONS said in a statement. (Reporting by William Schomberg, writing by Alistair Smout; editing by Michael Holden)