UK economy grew in February as firms prepared for lockdown easing

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economy grew by 0.4% in February from January as companies got ready for the lifting of a third coronavirus lockdown, official data showed on Tuesday.

FILE PHOTO: Commuters walk across the London Bridge during the morning rush hour, amid an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Britain September 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Economists polled by Reuters had expected growth of 0.6%.

But the data also showed that the fall in gross domestic product in January was not as severe as previously estimated, down by 2.2% compared with the initial reading of a 2.9% drop.

There were signs that trade between Britain and the European Union partially recovered in February after a hit in January, the first month of the new post-Brexit trade relationship.

The Office for National Statistics said the value of goods exports to the EU, excluding non-monetary gold and precious metals, rose by a monthly 47% in February to 11.6 billion pounds ($15.9 billion), while goods imports excluding non-monetary gold were up 7%.

Global goods exports were still 18% lower than a year earlier.

Britain’s economy shrank by almost 10% last year, its biggest slump in more than three centuries and a more severe fall than in most European economies, as the country was battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

But a fast rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has raised the prospect of a bounce-back this year and in 2022.

Non-essential shops and outdoor hospitality venues reopened on Monday and Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to relax most coronavirus restrictions before the end of June.

($1 = 0.7276 pounds)

Reporting by David Milliken and William Schomberg; Editing by Kate Holton

Source link

Related Articles

[td_block_social_counter facebook="tagdiv" twitter="tagdivofficial" youtube="tagdiv" style="style8 td-social-boxed td-social-font-icons" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLWJvdHRvbSI6IjM4IiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiJ9LCJwb3J0cmFpdCI6eyJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMzAiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBvcnRyYWl0X21heF93aWR0aCI6MTAxOCwicG9ydHJhaXRfbWluX3dpZHRoIjo3Njh9" custom_title="Stay Connected" block_template_id="td_block_template_8" f_header_font_family="712" f_header_font_transform="uppercase" f_header_font_weight="500" f_header_font_size="17" border_color="#dd3333"]

Latest Articles