UK GDP growth slows to six-month low

Reuters Videos
4 年前

The British economy will likely shrink in the final three months of the year.

Data out on Thursday (Dec 10) showed the economic recovery almost ground to a halt in October as a surge in coronavirus cases hammered the hospitality sector.

That was as public authorities in much of the UK barred people from socialising in pubs and restaurants, ahead of a broader four-week partial lockdown across England in November.

Gross domestic product rose 0.4% in October after expanding 1.1% in September.

That's the weakest growth since output collapsed in April during the first lockdown.

Some glimmers of hope arrived this week with a limited rollout of a COVID vaccine.

And potential for a rebound in consumer spending in 2021.

But many businesses will face new headwinds from trade restrictions with the European Union that come into force on January 1st.

Britain and the EU have given themselves until Sunday to seal a new trade pact that would limit some of the damage.

One economist told Reuters that the economy is in for a difficult few months.

Britain has Europe's highest death toll from COVID-19.

It also suffered the biggest economic hit of any major economy after GDP shrank by an unprecedented 19.8% in the second quarter of this year.

And government forecasters do not expect the economy to regain its pre-COVID size until the end of 2022.