British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street 10 to meet with Oman’s King Haitham bin Tariq, in London, Britain December 16, 2021.
Dylan Martinez | Reuters
The UK’s economy grew much stronger than expected 0.9 per cent in November, the Office for National Statistics said, finally exceeding its size just before the country began lockdown. COVID-19 first, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.
The ONS said the world’s fifth-largest economy was 0.7 percent larger than it was in February 2020.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast monthly gross domestic product growth of 0.4 percent in November.
“It is amazing to see the size of the economy return to pre-pandemic levels in November – a testament to the courage and determination of the British people,” said Finance Minister Rishi Sunak.
Other economies have recovered to scale before COVID, leading among them is the United States.
Despite November’s acceleration, GDP was likely to take a hit in December as the Omicron coronavirus variant swept through Europe, and the decline is likely to extend into January with many companies reporting absenteeism. serious and consumers are still wary of going out.
However, health officials say the wave of Omicron infections has now peaked in the UK, and analysts say the impact on the economy may be short-lived, allowing the Bank to The UK Central Bank continues to raise interest rates this year.
The ONS said that, ignoring data revisions, quarterly GDP would reach or surpass pre-coronavirus levels in the October-December period last year, as long as economic output did not fall more than 0.2% for the month. twelfth.
ONS said architects, retailers, couriers and accountants had a good month in November and construction activity rebounded after some weak months due to easy availability of materials. more after problems in the global supply chain.
The UK economy will still face challenges in the coming months, even if coronavirus restrictions are eased.
“While the UK economy should recover once the Plan B measures are lifted, rising inflation and continued supply chain disruptions could mean the UK’s economic growth prospects The UK remains under pressure for much of 2022,” said Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce.
