Recession not as bad as feared
CLAIMS that the economy is doing better than official statistics have suggested were boosted yesterday by new figures.
Gross Domestic Product shrank between April and June by 0.4 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said.
That was better than its previous estimate of 0.5 per cent – and its initial calculation in July of 0.7 per cent, which
shocked the City.
However, Britain remains mired in the longest double-dip recession since the Fifties, with GDP having fallen for three quarters in a row.
Economist David Kern, of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the new figures were “still too gloomy”.
But Vicky Redwood, of Capital Economics, predicted Britain will have bounced back out of recession by the time
figures for the period from July to September are analysed.
She warned though that the recovery remained very fragile
She warned though that the recovery remained very fragile.