LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economy shrank by a record 5.8% in March as the coronavirus crisis escalated and the government shut down much of the country, according to official data that point towards an even bigger hit to come.
FILE PHOTO: General view of the Canary Wharf financial district, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Britain, May 5, 2020. REUTERS/Marika Kochiashvili
The monthly drop in gross domestic product was felt in almost all sectors – from the country’s shuttered restaurants and bars to its building sites and factories – and was the largest since comparable records began in 1997.
“The sharp contraction in UK Q1 GDP comes as little surprise, but does clearly highlight the magnitude of the challenge facing policymakers,” JP Morgan market strategist Hugh Gimber said.
In the first three months of the year, GDP contracted by 2.0% from the last three months of 2019, the biggest drop since the depths of the financial crisis in late 2008, the Office for National Statistics said.
The Bank of England said last week