The British economy grows more than expected in Q2

Britain unexpectedly posted some growth in the second quarter, supported by a strong performance in June, official data revealed on Friday, but it remains the only one of the world’s largest economies not to return to pre-COVID-19 levels.

The economy expanded by 0.2 percent in the second quarter, compared with the median forecast of economists in a Reuters poll for growth to remain unchanged.

This performance was supported by a monthly growth of 0.5 percent in June, which exceeds all expectations in the Reuters poll, which indicated an expected growth of 0.2 percent.

The Office for National Statistics said businesses cited an extra local holiday in May as a factor in the increase in output in June compared to the previous month.

And although Britain has so far avoided a recession unlike the eurozone, the data confirms its relatively poor performance since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The British economy is now recording growth of 0.2 percent less than its levels at the end of 2019 in the second quarter.