UK economy unexpectedly grew by 0.1% in fourth quarter

Unlock the editor’s digest in free

FT editor Raula Khalaf selected his favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

In the fourth quarter, the UK’s economy increased by 0.1 percent unexpectedly, with a little enthusiasm for labor because they wanted to meet the promise to reinstate the economy.

The GDP The final three -month image of the year for national statistics has identified the zero growth of the trimester that ends in September, but is still consistent with an economy that is fighting to achieve speed.

According to a Reuters survey, economists predicted 0.1 percent fourth-quarters of contraction. The pound was strengthened after the data release, the dollar increased by 0.5 percent to $ 1.251.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised to throw his support behind the projects, including the third runway at Heathrow Airport in London and transportation between Oxford and Cambridge.

But Economy He has been disappointed again and again since the taking of labor power, stagnating in the second half of last year. The ONS said the real GDP per capita was estimated to decrease by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research Economist Hailey Lo says the latest information has been “a year of disappointment for enhancement”.

“Short businesses and consumers advise confidence that 2025 starts from the ground, with the speed of weak investment and obstructing the consumer expenses,” he added.

Over the entire period of 2021, the economy has increased by 8.5 percent, the ONS says a slight improvement in the expansion of 5.5 percent the previous year. However, the budget responsibility, the UK financial surveillance, has reduced the shortage of predictions since October by the office.

The annual growth was also recorded in the United States, where GDP increased by 2.5 percent in 2021.

OBR is expected to reduce its growth forecast in the upcoming spring statement, hitting the tax revenue and adding to the Chancellor’s financial stress.

Last week, Watchdog told Reeves that the headroom before his original budget was deleted by causes with weak economic information.

Responding to Thursday’s GDP’s personality, Reeves said: “For a long time, politicians have adopted an economy that has failed working people. I won’t. After 14 years of living standards, we are moving more and faster through our plans to change more money in people’s pockets. “

ONS statistics showed that the economy increased by 0.4 percent in December, after the unforgettable growth of 0.1 percent in the previous month. The improvement was driven by output in the UK’s dominant service sector.