The U.K. government warned today of a “significant” recession after official figures showed the economy shrank by 2 percent in the first quarter of the year even though it included just one week of the coronavirus lockdown. Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the U.K. into full lockdown on March 23, days after closing pubs and restaurants and schools. The March figure illustrates the scale of the coronavirus slump to come, with the Bank of England, for example, warning of the biggest annual slump since 1706. Like others, the British economy is set for a recession of unprecedented proportions, with many economists predicting that the second quarter could see economic output shrink by a quarter, or even more. Much of the British economy has been mothballed over the past couple of months, with many sectors unlikely to open again for months.

Source: The Standard May 13, 2020 09:45 UTC