The UK economy grew 6.6% in July as the recovery continued

The UK economy grew 6.6% in July, according to preliminary estimates released on Friday, as the economy recovers from a sharp decline caused by corona virus-induced locking operations.

Estimated growth in July GDP (GDP) Economists who voted for Reuters expect a monthly expansion of 6.7%, following growth of 8.7% in June and 2.4% in May, followed by a 20% decline in April.

Friday data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a 11.7% decline compared to the same period last year, which was slightly below expectations of a 11.4% contraction.

“Even if it continues steadily on the path to recovery, the UK economy should still have almost half the GDP lost since the outbreak,” ONS Economic Statistics Director Darren Morgan said in a statement on Friday.

In July the UK GDP was 18.6% higher than its April 2020 level, but 11.7% lower than the pre-epidemic levels seen in February.

Thomas Buck, UK economist at Capital Economics, said that although growth in July was slightly lower than the previous month, the negative growth rate in GDP in the second quarter was expected to remain at a record positive growth rate. Third. UK GDP contracted by 20.4% in the second quarter of 2020.

“However, July will probably be the last of the major stages of the process, and a full recovery will not be achieved until early 2022, which is why we think the Bank of England will further expand QE (size easing) to a total of 250 250 billion,” Buck said.

The country’s emergence of locking operations and reopening of hotels and restaurants in recent months means that the activity of the accommodation and food service sector rose by 140.8% per month in July, contributing to a 6.1% expansion in total service output.