UK economy suffers record 9.9 percent slump in 2020

Many economists think the rebound will be slower than the Bank of England’s projections.

The United Kingdom’s coronavirus-ravaged economy shrank 9.9 percent in 2020, the biggest annual fall in output since modern records began, but it avoided heading back towards recession at the end of last year, official figures showed on Friday. The UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1 percent between October and December, the Office for National Statistics said. This makes it unlikely the country will see two straight quarters of contraction – the standard definition of recession in Europe – even though the economy is set to shrink sharply in early 2021 due to the effects of a third COVID lockdown.