Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the British economy grew more quickly than previously thought in the final three months of last year, but still shrank by the most in more than three centuries last year as a whole, official data showed yesterday.
GDP increased 1.3 percent from October to December last year from the previous three-month period, the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
That was stronger than an earlier estimate of 1 percent growth, as the office received more data in recent weeks.
Photo: Reuters
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the growth rate to remain at 1 percent.
Last year, GDP fell 9.8 percent from 2019, only slightly less sharp than an initial estimate of a 9.9 percent slump.
Britain’s economy suffered the biggest drop of all members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) except for Argentina and Spain last year, OECD data has shown.
The British economy remained 7.3 percent smaller than before the pandemic, in inflation-adjusted terms, the second-biggest drop among eight major economies listed by the ONS.
However, in nominal terms — which is less affected by differences in the way economies compile the data — Britain stood middle of the pack.
Data also showed households were sitting on a big pile savings that the Bank of England thinks would fuel a jump in spending as the government lifts restrictions on the economy from now until late June.
The savings ratio rose to 16.1 percent from 14.3 percent in the third quarter, and for last year as a whole, it hit a record 16.3 percent, compared with 6.8 percent in 2019.
Separate data showed that Britain’s current account deficit widened to £26.3 billion (US$36.2 billion) in the fourth quarter, almost double the shortfall in the third quarter, as firms rushed to import goods before the Jan. 1 start to the UK’s less open trade relationship with the EU.
However, the deficit — a long-standing concern for investors because it leaves Britain reliant on foreign inflows of cash — came in below forecasts of £33 billion in the Reuters poll.
It was equivalent to 4.8 percent of GDP, or 4.2 percent excluding volatile movements of precious metals such as gold.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known