Britain's economy shrank by less than feared in December when the Omicron wave prompted many people to work from home and avoid Christmas socializing
Gross domestic product fell 0.2% in December - as many people worked from home and avoided Christmas socialising due to the Omicron coronavirus variant - following growth of 0.7% the month before, official data showed.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comThe quarterly pace of expansion held steady at 1.0%, helped by the public health service, couriers and employment agencies.
The slump and rebound are the biggest among the Group of Seven rich nations, in part reflecting Britain's high number of COVID-19 deaths and reliance on consumer-facing services but also different conventions for measuring public-sector output. "The UK economy is facing a materially weaker 2022 as the crippling burden of rising inflation, soaring energy bills and higher taxes on consumers and businesses dampens activity," Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce , said.
The BCC called on the government to scrap a planned rise in payroll taxes levied on workers and businesses - something finance minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly ruled out.Services output fell 0.5% in December, driven by a 3.0% fall in consumer-facing services such as retail and hospitality. Output for consumer-facing services is still more than 8% below its pre-pandemic level.
Britain's goods trade deficit with the European Union fell to 70.2 billion pounds, its lowest since 2013, during the first year that new trading arrangements with the EU took effect.
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