New analysis suggests the UK economy is expected to be the worst performer of any Group of 20 (G20) apart from Russia this year and next.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said it expected UK gross domestic product (GDP) to fall by 0.2% this year, followed by 0.9% growth next year.
The organization’s economists said it fared worse than all countries but Russia, whose GDP is forecast to fall 2.5% this year, followed by a 0.5% drop in 2024.
It means Britain is the only country apart from Russia – which is under severe sanctions – will see its economy shrink this year. The modest increase in the UK in 2024 will match that of South Africa and the United States.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “The British economy has proved more resilient than many expected, outperforming many forecasts by being the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year, and is on track to avoid recession.
“Earlier this week I laid out plans to grow the economy by freeing up business investment and helping more people into work, as well as expanding our critical energy bill support to help with rising prices, which take a toll on energy profits. Made possible by our windfall.”
We believe that the measures that the Government is taking to address these issues are going to be very important to improving the economic outlook for the United Kingdom going forward, but there are some particular challenges that need to be addressed at this time. are coming to the fore.
Despite not addressing the new figures, Mr Hunt won some support from OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.
He said: “We believe that the measures the government is taking to address these issues are very important to improving the economic outlook for the United Kingdom going forward, but there are some particular challenges that lie ahead at this time.” Coming.”
The OECD said it expects global GDP to grow by 2.6% this year and 2.9% in 2024. The biggest gains will be in China – up 5.3% this year – and India – up 5%.
Mr Corman said he did not think the recent bank failures in the US and the struggles of Credit Suisse had been more widely disseminated.
“So far, we really believe that the regulatory environment globally has improved a lot since the global financial crisis.
“Certainly there is an increase in financial stability risks with the level of financial turbulence – markets are jittery. We believe the risks of this spreading more widely are largely limited at this stage.
Credit: www.standard.co.uk /