Outside the Bank of England in the City of London, copies of the Evening Standard were seen as figures revealed that the UK economy had fallen into a recession at the end of 2023. However, there was a positive turn of events as official figures released on Friday showed that the UK economy had grown by 0.6% in the first quarter, surpassing expectations of a 0.4% growth.
Economists had predicted a lower growth rate, making the news of the 0.6% increase a pleasant surprise. The UK had entered a shallow recession towards the end of 2023 due to persistent inflation affecting the economy. While there is no official definition of a recession, two consecutive quarters of negative growth are commonly considered indicators of a technical recession.
The news of the UK economy coming out of recession was welcomed positively, signaling a potential turnaround for the country’s economic situation. This is a developing story and more updates are expected to be released shortly as economists and analysts analyze the latest data on UK economic growth.