Growth exceeds expectations for the UK economy in March

Official data revealed, today, Wednesday, that Britain’s economy grew at a rate that exceeded expectations of 2.1% last March compared with February, gaining momentum for what is believed to be a strong recovery this year after a severe decline due to the Corona virus in 2020.

The growth was led by the retail sector, the reopening of schools and the construction sector, as the country began to exit from the winter closures associated with Covid-19, according to Reuters. Read also Britain’s economy suffers a record decline of nearly 10 percent in 2020The economy of the old continent is breathing a sigh of relief .. The European Union and Britain declare historic victory after Brexit The worst since World War II … the new Corona strain is killing the British economy Record growth of the British economy at 16% in the third quarter

Economists expected – in a Reuters poll – a monthly growth of 1.3%.

In the first 3 months of 2021 – when the country underwent isolation measures for the third time due to the virus – GDP shrank by 1.5%, according to the Office for National Statistics, which is in line with the expectations of the Bank of England.

The British National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement, on Wednesday, that the level of GDP is now 8.7% lower than it was before the epidemic in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the Anadolu Agency.

Consumption improved

According to the National Bureau of Statistics statement, government consumption increased and the trade balance improved in the first quarter of 2021, driven by a drop in imports more sharply than export growth.

According to a bank statement – at the time – the UK’s GDP is expected to grow by 7.25% during 2021, and these economic expectations still depend on the developments of the pandemic and precautionary measures.

And last week, the Bank of England predicted GDP growth during the second quarter of 2021 (without providing figures) compared to a 1% contraction in the first quarter, with the economy reaching pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.

The British economy contracted 9.9% in 2020, in the largest annual decline in the UK’s gross domestic product.