LONDON: The UK’s recession-threatened economy rebounded in July after a hefty fall the previous month, official data showed Monday.
British gross domestic product expanded 0.2 percent after a drop of 0.6 percent in June, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
June’s big decline had been attributed partly to an extra public holiday celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of late queen Elizabeth II following her 70 years on the throne.
Another public holiday is scheduled next Monday for her funeral.
“The feeble 0.2-percent bounce back in July was driven by weak GDP in June due in part to the loss of working days from the Jubilee long weekend,” noted Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK.
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“More concerning, July’s GDP remains below the level seen in May, pointing to an overall contraction over the first two months of summer.”
Britain usually has only one public holiday in early summer but the amount was doubled for the Jubilee.
Time off work for millions of Britons next Monday means the economy will have had two more public holidays than usual in 2022.
The Bank of England expects the UK economy to enter recession before the end of the year on decades-high inflation fuelled by sky-high energy and food bills.
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