UK economy in recovery mode

LONDON: Britain’s economic recovery began to recover strongly at the end of the first quarter despite lockdown restrictions, official data revealed yesterday. Gross domestic product jumped 2.1 percent in March, the Office for National Statistics said, although by not enough for the UK economy to avoid contracting overall in the first quarter. GDP shrank by 1.5 percent overall in the first three months of 2021 compared with the final quarter last year, the ONS said.

The UK is meanwhile currently exiting lockdown at a gradual pace, allowing the economy to further recover from pandemic fallout. “As we cautiously reopen the economy, I will continue to take all the steps necessary to support our recovery,” finance minister Rishi Sunak said in reaction to the data.

Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics, said the strong recovery seen in March was led by retail and school reopenings, offsetting weakness in the services sector. He added that construction grew strongly over the quarter and stood above its pre-pandemic level in March. Morgan also noted that manufacturing recovered robustly in both February and March.

Meanwhile, “exports of goods to the EU continued to increase in March and are now almost back to their December level” before Brexit took place, he added. “However, imports from Europe remain sluggish in the first three months of the year, being outstripped by non-EU imports for the first time on record.”