Ammon – The British economy achieved unexpected growth rates in the second quarter of this year, supported by a strong performance in June, but it remains the only one among the largest global economies that has not returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Official data showed on Friday that the gross domestic product in Britain grew by 0.2 percent in the second quarter, on a quarterly basis, compared to 0.1 percent in the first quarter, which was better than expectations that the level of growth would remain unchanged.
The growth rate in the second quarter is the highest since the same period in 2022.
The growth rate in the second quarter received a strong boost from an unexpected performance in June, during which GDP grew by 0.5%, beating expectations of a growth of just 0.2%, after contracting by 0.1% in May.
On an annual basis, the growth rate of the British economy increased by 0.4 percent in the second quarter, compared to expectations of its stability at levels of 0.2 percent in the first quarter.
Britain’s Office for National Statistics said businesses cited an extra local holiday in May as a factor in the increase in production in June compared to the previous month.
British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said, “The steps we have taken to fight inflation are beginning to bear fruit, which means that we are laying the strong foundations required for the growth of the economy.”
Britain has so far avoided recession, unlike the eurozone, but the data still confirms its relatively weak performance since the beginning of the Corona pandemic.
The British economy is currently 0.2% below its level at the end of 2019, based on second-quarter data, compared to an increase of 0.2% for Germany, 1.7% for France, 2.2% for Italy and 6.2% for the United States.
Sky News Arabia
