Britain's GDP grows 0.5 percent in October: statistics office

Britain's GDP grows 0.5 percent in October: statistics office

The Bank of England has predicted that the UK economy will contract in the final quarter of the year
The Bank of England has predicted that the UK economy will contract in the final quarter of the year. Photo: ISABEL INFANTES / AFP
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Never miss breaking news – join Briefly News' Telegram channel!

Britain's economy grew 0.5 percent in October, official data showed Monday, after a sharp fall the previous month in part because of the national holiday for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

Gross domestic product fell 0.6 percent in September after businesses closed for the royal funeral, and Britain's economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the third quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics, said the economy was helped especially by car sales which "rebounded after a very poor September, while the health sector also saw a strong month".

The ONS said in its statement Monday that in the three months to October, the economy contracted by 0.3 percent.

Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt said in a statement that despite the figures showing growth, "there is a tough road ahead".

Read also

Canada central bank hikes key lending rate 50 basis points to 4.25%

"High inflation, exacerbated by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's illegal war, is slowing growth across the world, with the IMF predicting a third of the world economy will be in recession this year or next," he said.

PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!

British inflation stands above 11 percent, the highest level in more than 40 years.

The Bank of England has predicted the UK economy would contract in the final quarter of 2022, meaning the economy was in a recession.

The technical definition of recession is two quarters of contraction in a row.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.