UK avoids recession – but only just

The UK narrowly avoided recession last year, according to official figures. Economic growth was flat over the final three months of 2022, with a contraction of 0.5% in December following growth of 0.1% in November and 0.55% in October, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics. Negative growth in the fourth quarter would have signalled recession, after the economy shrank by 0.3% in the third quarter. The figures are better than many expected, but lower than Bank of England policymakers predicted in their latest outlook for the UK economy, which anticipated GDP growth of 0.1% over the quarter. To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews