The economy grew by 0.5% in October, but Britain is still expected to be in recession by the end of the year.
The modest return to month-on-month growth in GDP came after contractions of 0.1% in August and 0.6% in September, when an extra bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral suppressed growth. Economists had expected growth of 0.4% in October. A resurgence in car sales and construction helped boost the figure.
However, economists have called the return to growth a “false dawn for the economy”. The economy contracted over the third quarter and is still expected to contract over the current quarter, meeting the criteria for a technical recession.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has its next meeting on Thursday, and is expected to raise interest rates by a further 50 basis points, taking the rate to 3.5%.
