The UK economy expanded at a faster rate than initially thought in the final quarter of 2021 despite the Omicron variant.
- Services industries grew more quickly than initially estimated, and exports also posted a bigger increase.
- There was also a huge jump in real activity, with consumers returning to shops at the end of 2021. Hospitality struggled with people staying away from restaurants.
- The current-account deficit, the gap between money coming into the UK and money leaving, shrank sharply to 7.3 billion pounds in Q4, equal to 1.2% of GDP. That was the lowest since the end of 2019.
- The trade deficit narrowed sharply as exports bounced back after a third-quarter plunge.
The British economy also recorded a 4.7 billion pound surplus on investment income, the first surplus since 2011. That signals increased returns from investments that UK companies made abroad than foreign firms made in Britain.
FTSE 100 -0.22%, GBP USD down -0.05%
Source: Office for National Statistics
