LONDON (Reuters) – British gross domestic product grew by 0.1% in the first three months of 2023, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had mostly forecast 0.1% quarter-on-quarter growth in the first three months of this year.
In March, British GDP shrank by 0.3% from February.
The Reuters poll of economists had pointed to no change in GDP in March.
The ONS said Britain’s economy remained 0.5% smaller than its size in the fourth quarter of 2019, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic.
The Bank of England forecast on Thursday that Britain would grow by 0.25% in 2023 – a weak expansion but one which avoids a recession – having previously predicted a contraction of 0.5%.
Britain is struggling with an inflation rate which topped 10% in March – double the level in the United States and higher than the euro zone’s too – as well as a very tight labour market, a string of interest rate hikes and after-effects of Brexit.
(Reporting by William James)
