. The country’s gross domestic product ticked up 0.1% in the first three months of 2023, compared with the previous quarter, data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday. But output dropped by 0.3% in March, compared with February, on the back of “widespread decreases” in demand across the services sector, Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS said in a statement. Morgan added that a series of strikes by public sector workers had also weighed on activity.
It also upgraded its economic forecasts Thursday, saying it now expects the UK to dodge a recession this year, mostly thanks to a sharp drop in energy prices. The central bank expects the UK economy to grow by 0.25% this year and by 0.75% in 2024 — a much more positive assessment than in February, when it forecast contractions of 0.5% and 0.25%, respectively. Governor Andrew Bailey said it wasn’t a “strong forecast,” just less weak than the bank’s previous projections.
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