11 November 2019

The Guardian: UK avoids recession but Brexit uncertainty damages growth

Britain’s economy avoided a recession in the third quarter after it expanded by 0.3% but the annual pace of growth was the slowest for nearly 10 years as Brexit uncertainty depressed business activity.

Official figures showed the UK returned to growth between July and September after a dip of 0.2% in the three months to the end of June. A technical recession is defined by two successive quarters of negative growth.

There were fears that Brexit uncertainty might have pushed the economy into further negative growth but Britain’s services sector – which encompasses a range of industries from film and TV production to banking and the high street – performed strongly enough to push the UK into positive territory.

The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said the sight of ministers celebrating 0.1% growth over the last six months was “a sign of how low their hopes and expectations for our economy are”. There was also a downward trajectory across the quarter after an increase in growth in July turned negative in August and September, pulling growth down to its lowest annualised rate, at 1%, since the first quarter of 2010. [...]

Full article on The Guardian

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