New Delhi: The Second most coronavirus affected country in the Europe after France – The UK recovers very fast economically. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the UK grew by a record 16 percent from July to September and revised the previous estimate of 15.5 percent.
The official data shows that Britain’s economic recovery from its coronavirus crash was quicker than expected in the third quarter.
The International Monetary Fund has said “Britain will probably need to raise taxes after the pandemic to fill the gap.”
According to the official data – household incomes grew over the summer as many workers returned from temporary layoffs. Consumer spending rose by almost 20 percent in the third quarter as households ran down some of the savings that piled up in the second quarter, when people were ordered to stay at home and many non-essential retailers and other businesses were closed.
Britain’s economy was hit harder than most others by the pandemic, which has led the deaths of more people than any other country in Europe after Italy, experts said.
According to the Bank of England “GDP will shrink again in the fourth quarter as worries about the December 31 deadline for a Brexit trade deal with the European Union compound the damage from Covid-19.”
The Finance minister of the UK – Rishi Sunak said that “When our economy recovers, it’s right that we take the necessary steps to put the public finances on a more sustainable footing so we are able to respond to future crises in the way we have done this year.”
The office of National Statistics said that “Britain borrowed a record 241 billion pounds in the first eight months of the financial year which is 190 billion pounds more than in the same period a year earlier.”
Some Financial experts of the UK and budget forecasters think that “The deficit will hit almost 400 billion pounds in the 2020/21 year, close to 20% of GDP, or double the hit from the global financial crisis.”
Public debt in the UK stood at almost 2.1 trillion pounds which is 99.5 percent of GDP and the highest ratio since 1962.
Initial lockdown in the UK has lasted longer in comparison to the other countries and Prime Minister Boris Johnson may announce strict lockdown in the view of a new strain of coronavirus which spreads 70 percent faster than current coronavirus.
_Vinayak.Barot