LONDON, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Kingdom's (UK) gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by 0.2 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of this year, revised up from the previous estimate of 0.1 percent contraction, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Friday.
Services output is estimated to have increased by 0.2 percent between April and June, reflecting an easing in information and communication, and professional, scientific and technical activities output.
"The good news is that the economy is not already in recession," chief UK economist at Capital Economics consultancy Paul Dales said. Although the economy may contract in the third quarter, "if there is a recession it will have started later than we thought."
The overall size of the UK economy is now 0.2 percent below its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level in the fourth quarter of 2019, revised down from previous estimates of 0.6 percent above, according to the ONS.
It implied that the damage inflicted to the economy's supply side by COVID-19 and Brexit is even larger than previously thought, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics consultancy Samuel Tombs said.
UK GDP is estimated to have contracted by 11 percent in 2020 after a downward revision, reflecting the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions. In 2021, the country's GDP is estimated to have expanded by 7.5 percent after an upward revision. ■
