Plane Contrails Paint London’s Slow Return to Economic Growth: U.K.’s GDP Expands by 0.1% in February, Beating Expectations, but Recession Ended in 2023?

London, England – On February 15th, 2024, plane contrails streak across the sky over Regent Street. The U.K.’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.1% in February, indicating a slow return to economic growth this year. While the monthly figure was in line with expectations from a Reuters poll, on an annual basis, GDP was 0.2% lower.

The U.K.’s economy had contracted in the third and fourth quarters of 2023, putting the country in a technical recession. January saw slight growth, revised upward to 0.3% on Friday. Construction output, which had previously boosted growth, fell by 1.9% in February. However, production output was the largest contributor to GDP, rising by 1.1% in February while growth in the services sector slowed to 0.1% from 0.3%.

Paul Dales, Chief U.K economist at Capital Economics stated that the latest data “all-but confirms the recession ended” last year. He expressed optimism for a better economic recovery but doubts that it will be strong enough to prevent inflation and interest rates from falling further similar to trends observed in the U.S where inflation fell more than expected reaching a nearly two-and-a-half year low of 3