Double-dip recession still feared amid growth
A d o u b l e - d i p r e c e s s i o n r e m a i n s o n t h e c a r d s despite the UK economy notching up record growth between July and September.
Official figures showed the economy surging out of recessionary territory with record growth of 15.5 per cent in the third quarter.
Howe ve r, t h e r e c ove r y slowed sharply even before the second lockdown English lockdown. The Office f o r N a t i o n a l S t a t i s t i c s (ONS) said the economy grew by j u s t 1 . 1 p e r c e n t month-on-month in Sep - tember.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned growth is likely to slow further in the fourth quarter with “hard times ahead”.
Exper ts are forecasting a s h a r p f a l l i n G D P t h i s month caused by the second English lockdown.
Kay Daniel Neufeld, head of macroeconomics at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said: “The strong bounceback in third-quarter GDP was e x p e c t e d a s t h e e c o n o - my opened again over the summer.
“The data show the recover y was led by consumer spending boosting output in the likes of the hospitality and retail sectors.
“For Q4, the outlo ok is challenging given the new lockdowns. However, if a vaccine is approved in the next week we expect this to be a shot in the arm for b u s i n e s s a n d c o n s u mer confidence.”
Ivan Petrella, asso ciate professor of economics at Warwick Business School, said: “There is no sign we are out of the recession yet and there is a lot of uncertaint y for the months to come. Economic recovery will go hand in hand with resolving the health crisis asso ciated with the pandemic.”