The revised data also brought an upward revision of the year-on-year growth rate, which finally reached -7.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020. y / y versus -7.8% previously expected. A detailed description of the data shows that consumption, which decreased by 1.7% rather than 0.2%, contributed to a lower GDP than was initially estimated. As previously assumed. On the other hand, government spending grew faster. Both imports and exports grew dynamically, which followed the increase in traffic before Great Britain finally left the European Union.
However, it can be said with certainty that the second lockdown, introduced in November, had milder effects on the economy than those that occurred at the start of last year. Many companies have adapted to the new reality, and the UK has entered the new year much less hit than expected. This is especially important in relation to the rapid vaccination of the population, thanks to which the country can enter the path of economic growth faster. The virus boom that put the UK’s health services in trouble at the start of the year casts a shadow today over continental Europe, which is also struggling with delaying vaccination. All of these factors put Great Britain at a better start than other European countries at the end of the first quarter.
The pound has hardly reacted to the GDP adjustment. The GBP / USD is following a predetermined trend, and holds around 1.3725.
