UK’S economic rebound slowed in May despite lifting of Covid rules
LONDON: Britain’s postlockdown economic rebound slowed sharply in May despite a further relaxation of socialdistancing rules, according to official data which also showed the hit to carmakers from a global shortage of microchips.
Gross domestic product expanded by a monthly 0.8 per cent, much faster than its typical pre-pandemic pace but down from April’s 2.0 per cent surge and a lot weaker than the median forecast of 1.5 per cent in a Reuters poll of economists.
“Of course, the pace of the recovery was always going to slow as the economy climbed back towards its pre-crisis level. But we hadn’t expected it to slow so much so soon,” Paul Dales, an economist with Capital Economics, said.
Britain suffered one of the biggest hits from the pandemic among advanced economies last year and GDP in May was 3.1 per cent below its level in February 2020, the last full month before the country first went into lockdown.
Sterling fell slightly after the figures were published.
The Bank of England expects Britain’s economy to grow by 7.25 per cent this year, the fastest annual growth since 1941 when Britain was rearming during World War Two. Last year output plunged by almost 10 per cent, the biggest drop in more than 300 years.
April saw the easing of restrictions for non-essential retailers, hairdressers, and pubs and restaurants that could serve customers outside. In May, hospitality firms were allowed to resume indoor service.
Britain’s dominant services sector grew by a weakerthan-expected 0.9 per cent in May from April as a huge 37.1 per cent monthly jump for accommodation and food services failed to offset slower increases elsewhere in the sector.
Supermarket sales fell as more people ate out, and education output dropped due to a decline in school attendance. Reduced Covid-19 testing also weighed on GDP.
Industrial output grew by 0.8 per cent but manufacturing shrank narrowly. The chip shortage affecting carmakers led to the biggest fall in their output since April 2020, the ONS said.