The pound is weaker against the euro and dollar this morning, struggling to recover from last week’s losses following disappointing GDP figures released this morning.
The figures show that the UK economy grew by 1.3% in the three months to September, missing expectations of a 1.5% growth and still 2.1% below pre-pandemic levels. GDP previously grew by 5.5% in the three months to June, so recovery has slowed dramatically.
This slowdown was caused by rising infection rates, the so-called ‘pingdemic’ and global supply shortages. Both construction and manufacturing recorded a decline, whilst the service sector grew.
Month-on-month, however, the economy grew by 0.6% in September, beating expectations. However, the data overall shows that the UK’s economic recovery is behind other G10 countries.
