Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, shares her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter. The UK economy experienced growth for the second consecutive month in February, driven primarily by a surge in manufacturing activity, sparking hope for a potential emergence from a technical recession.
According to the Office for National Statistics, Gross Domestic Product increased by 0.1% between January and February, aligning with analysts’ expectations and slightly lower than January’s revised 0.3% growth. Services output saw a 0.1% increase, while manufacturing surged by 1.1%. Despite this growth, construction output declined by 1.9%.
The recent figures suggest that the UK economy may have expanded overall in the first quarter, putting an end to the technical recession that began at the end of 2023 after two consecutive quarters of negative growth. This positive news could serve as a boost for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, especially as the country heads towards a general election expected to take place later this year.
Liz McKeown, ONS director stated “Looking across the last three months as a whole, the economy grew for the first time since last summer.” In the three months leading up to February, the economy saw a 0.2% growth compared to the previous three months, marking the first expansion since August 2023.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt expressed optimism about
