The UK economy grew by 0.2% in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is an upward revision from the initial estimate of a 0.1% contraction and suggests that the UK is not currently in recession, as was predicted by the Bank of England earlier this month.
However, the revised figures also show that GDP is still smaller than it was before the Covid-19 pandemic, contrary to earlier estimates it had recovered.
This reflects a bigger impact on the economy than first thought in the first few months of the pandemic when lockdowns shut down businesses across the country.
The UK economy is now believed to have shrunk by 11% in 2020, a more severe contraction than the previous estimate of a 9.8% hit.
As a result, the ONS said that the economy in the second quarter was 0.2% below where it was pre-coronavirus in the fourth quarter of 2019, revised from a previous estimate of 0.6% above.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the figures showed that the downturn in economic activity in 2020 “looks even worse than previously thought, and the subsequent recovery even weaker”.
He added that the Office for Budget Responsibility would now have to further revise down its estimates for future potential GDP.
