British economy plunges into recession after record second-quarter fall

Britain’s economy went into recession after contracting a record 20.4 per cent in the second quarter of the year as the coronavirus crisis continues, the Office for National Statistics, ONS, has said.

The quarterly contraction in the April-to-June period was the largest since 1955 when the agency began to keep quarterly records.

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 2.2 per cent in the first quarter, the ONS said on Wednesday.

The ONS also said that there were signs of improvement in June as government restrictions on movement began to ease.

“The economy began to bounce back in June, with shops reopening, factories beginning to ramp up production and house-building continuing to recover,” said Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS.

Services, production and construction output saw record quarterly falls in the quarter, the agency said, noting “those industries that have been most exposed to government restrictions”.

Private consumption was down by over a quarter and government consumption also dropped.