UK GDP growth surpassed analysts’ expectations
2023.01.13 05:13
UK GDP growth surpassed analysts’ expectations
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – Despite a gloomy outlook for 2023, Britain’s economy unexpectedly managed some modest growth in November thanks to World Cup drinkers and video game sales, reducing the likelihood of recession.
The Office for National Statistics released data on Friday showing a 0.1% increase in gross domestic product over October, which was higher than the average economist forecast of a 0.2% decline, according to Reuters.
The economy contracted by 0.3 percent in the three months leading up to the end of November, which was in line with predictions made by economists. This contraction was caused by a 0.6 percent drop in output in September, when many businesses closed for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.
“In November, increases in computer programming and telecommunications contributed to a slight expansion of the economy. People went out to watch World Cup games, so bars and pubs also did well,” ONS statistician Darren Morgan said.
Due to the stronger-than-expected growth in November, Britain will need to have experienced a significant decline in output in December in order to experience the two consecutive negative GDP quarters that are commonly used to define a recession in Europe.
In the event that no other revisions were made, the ONS stated that December’s GDP would need to decrease by roughly 0.5% in order for fourth-quarter growth to be negative when rounded to the nearest tenth.
According to Fidelity International associate director Ed Monk, “The UK economy is doing its best to avoid falling into a technical recession with another month of growth in November… (but) it doesn’t change the fact that it is likely to be an extremely painful year for the economy.”
In October, consumer price inflation reached a 41-year high of 11.1%, and while the government’s budget watchdog predicted in November that output would decrease by 1.4% in 2023, the squeeze on living standards has not subsided.
“The most important help we can give is to stick to the plan to halve inflation this year so we get the economy growing again,” Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt stated following the GDP data.
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