UK economy shrinks in second quarter, sharpening recession fear | World News,The Indian Express
The average U.K. household fuel bill has risen more than 50% this year as the war in Ukraine squeezes global oil and natural gas supplies.
The United Kingdom’s economy shrank in the three months to June, figures released Friday showed — a smaller-than-expected contraction that nevertheless added to jitters about the rocky months ahead.
The Office for National Statistics said Britain’s gross domestic product fell by 0.1% between April and June, down from 0.8% growth in the previous quarter. GDP shrank by 0.6% in June, and growth estimates for May were revised down from 0.5% to 0.4%.
The statistics office said health spending was the biggest contributor to the fall, as the government scaled down coronavirus testing, contact tracing and vaccination programs.
“Many retailers also had a tough quarter,” said ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan. “These were partially offset by growth in hotels, bars, hairdressers and outdoor events across the quarter,” partly as a result of celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in June.
Analysts said the decline did not necessarily mean the start of a recession, often defined as two quarters of economic contraction. The Bank of England, however, says the U.K. will likely fall into recession later this year as a cost-of-living crisis worsens and inflation rises above the current 9.4%.
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