UK GDP shows improvement as restrictions are lifted
The indicators show a growth of 15.5 % due to the recent measures taken by the government of Boris Johnson
The UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 15.5 % in the third quarter following the lifting of restrictions in the country, after suffering a historic contraction of 19.8 % in the second quarter and 2,5 % in the first three months of 2020, according to the preliminary estimate published by the National Statistical Office (ONS).
In the third quarter, services posted a growth of 14.2 %, after the 19.2 % contraction in the second quarter, although activity in the sector was still 10% lower than before the pandemic.
The British statistical office specified that, after observing a GDP growth of 6.3 % in the month of July, in the two following months there was a slowdown in the growth momentum, with a monthly expansion of 2.2 % in August and 1.1 % in September.
Despite the rebound between the months of July and September, the British economy, the second largest in Europe, registered a contraction of 9.6 % in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2019 and remained at 9.7 % below the level registered at the end of 2019.
“Several countries have published the first GDP estimates for the third quarter of 2020, including the United States, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Despite record GDP expansions in the third quarter, the level of GDP in each of these countries remains below than before the effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” said the institution.
K. Tovar
Source: dpa
