Britain’s economy shrank by nearly 20% in second quarter

London:  Britain’s economy shrank by a record 19.8 percent in the second quarter, entering recession over the coronavirus lockdown, but the contraction was less severe than first thought, official data showed on Wednesday.
The fall was the biggest since the Office for National Statistics (ONS) records began in 1955. Other data have suggested Britain is on course for its biggest annual fall since the 1920s.
Britain’s economy had already shrunk by 2.5 percent in the January-March period as the country entered lockdown in late March, CGTN reported.
Output has rebounded in recent months but the recovery looks to be fading with rising coronavirus cases and forecasts of a jump in unemployment as the government scales back job support.
The renewed COVID-19 restrictions will probably mean that GDP stagnates in Q4, leaving economic activity marooned 5.5 percent short of its pre-crisis level Ruth Gregory of consultancy Capital Economics said “And the risk now is that renewed containment measures send the recovery into reverse,” she added.
Britain has suffered Europe’s highest death toll from COVID-19, with more than 42,000 fatalities.