According to official data released on Thursday, the British economy fell into recession in the second half of 2023. The gross domestic product decreased by 0.1% in the third quarter and by 0.3% in the fourth, matching preliminary estimates previously published. Despite some progress in early 2024, with GDP growing by 0.2% in January and continued growth recorded in February and March according to unofficial surveys, recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been slow. Currently, the UK economy is just 1% bigger than it was at the end of 2019, with Germany the only underperforming G7 country.
The Bank of England has indicated that British inflation is approaching a level where they can start cutting interest rates. The bank expects economic growth of only 0.25% this year, while official budget forecasters are more optimistic, expecting economic growth of 0.8%. Following the release of this data, the value of sterling against the US dollar and the euro remained relatively stable.