Nightmare for German economy as UK growth outpaces EU’s biggest power THREE times | World | News


Britain’s economy grew by 4.8% in the second quarter of 2021 as lockdowns were lifted, bringing people back to pubs, the Office for National Statistics said. This figure is three times higher than that of Germany and four times higher than that of France.

Sam Fuller, director of Financial Markets Online, said: “The pace of the UK’s vaccination program – which has successfully delivered two shots of Covid into the arms of 75% of the adult population – is an important factor and may explain why UK growth has soared. triple that of Germany and four times that of its European neighbour, France.

Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose another 1% in June, creating five consecutive months of growth.

The economy also picked up steam after growing 0.6% in May, the ONS said.

Lockdown restrictions slowly eased for much of the quarter.

Outdoor dining reopened in April, the first month included in quarterly data, and further restrictions were lifted in May.

GP surgeries across the country also contributed significantly to the growth.

The number of people visiting their doctor for complaints unrelated to Covid increased, increasing the consumption of health services by 5.1% in the second quarter.

It was also helped by government spending on test and trace and the vaccination programme, the ONS said.

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Economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics expected GDP growth of 0.6% in June and 4.7% in the quarter.

The Bank of England, meanwhile, had predicted growth of 5% for the whole quarter.

However, the rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant and the surge in the number of people self-isolating have undermined some of this growth.

Nevertheless, the data marks a major improvement compared to the first months of the year.

In the first quarter, the economy contracted 1.6% as it struggled with prolonged shutdowns.

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This data covered the period up to the end of March and therefore did not include the reopening of outdoor accommodation in April and indoor accommodation a month later.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “I know there are still challenges to overcome, but I am confident in the strength of the UK economy and the resilience of the British people.”

The ONS also reported that the UK’s trade deficit, excluding precious metals, increased by £3.6bn to £5.2bn in the second quarter of the year.

In June, exports to non-EU countries fell 5.6%, mainly due to lower sales of pharmaceuticals and cars to countries outside Europe.

Exports to EU countries rose 1.2% in June, according to statisticians.

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