Doomsayers ‘proved wrong’: UK had third-fastest Covid recovery in G7, revised GDP data now shows September 1, 2023 New figures show the UK economy bounced back from the pandemic faster than had been thought.
After the economy grew again, will Bank of England’s rate hikes tip the UK into recession? August 11, 2023 The UK economy grew faster than expected in June, expanded 0.5 per cent, helping to bring growth in the second quarter to 0.2 per cent – but analysts are divided about what the figures say for the coming months. Growth in June was given a boost by a strong performance from the production sector, which [...]
UK economy shrugs off recession risk after growing faster than expected August 11, 2023 The UK grew faster than expected in the second quarter of the year as the economy proved itself more resilient to rising rates than many had expected, helping to reduce the risk of recession. Across the second quarter, the economy grew 0.2 per cent following a 0.1 per cent expansion in the first quarter, the [...]
Friday’s GDP data ‘could be as good as it gets for a while’ August 7, 2023 Analysts expect UK GDP to have eked upwards in June, with official confirmation coming on Friday of this week. Resilience in consumer spending and better-than-expected PMI figures suggest the Office for National Statistics will declare the economy grew in June when it releases its monthly data later this week. Oxford Economics expects the ONS to [...]
UK recession risk just got a whole lot lower after inflation undershoot July 25, 2023 From the Bank of England to recession warnings, Jack Barnett gets under the skin of Britain’s economy in his weekly column Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey would not have been the only person in the City last week breathing a sigh of relief after the better than expected inflation numbers. It was the first [...]
UK borrowing falls as debt pile revised to under 100 per cent of economy July 21, 2023 The Government’s debt pile was bigger than the country’s economic output in June – the first time this has happened for more than 60 years, official data shows. Public sector net borrowing hit £18.5 billion last month, down from £20 billion a month earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It pushed the total [...]
King’s coronation steers UK economy back into red as GDP shrinks 0.1 per cent in May July 13, 2023 Lost work owing to the additional bank holiday to celebrate the King’s coronation has sent UK economic growth into reverse, official figures out today reveal. UK gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.1 per cent in May, a much smaller drop than the City expected and down from a 0.2 per cent expansion in April, according [...]
Let’s all hand our cash over to the Treasury to pay off UK’s £2.5 trillion debt pile (not) June 27, 2023 Here’s a fun fact. If everyone in the UK worked for a year and gave all their earnings to the Treasury, the government could nearly repay the country’s more than £2.5 trillion debt pile. Alright, that’s oversimplifying the equation. But it does illustrate a principle in economics that often gets lost in the deluge of [...]
UK economy swings back to growth but spectre of recession looms amid interest rate fears June 14, 2023 Britain’s economy swung back to growth in spring, but the recent turmoil in the mortgage market and the prospect of the Bank of England hiking interest rates aggressively has put the risk of a recession back on the table. Official figures out today from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product – [...]
FTSE 100 close: Rio Tinto and Glencore hoist London index as UK economy resumes growth June 14, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 jumped today, led higher by industrial giants offsetting losses among retail and consumer-focused firms and housebuilders. The capital’s premier index added 0.1 per cent to close at 7,602.75 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, was largely unchanged at 19,175.50 [...]