After a positive start to the week, the pound weakened this morning against the euro and the dollar. This was due to GDP data for the UK, which showed that the economy grew by 1.8% in May. This shows that the economy was a quarter smaller in May than in February, before the pandemic struck.
Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, commented this morning: “Today’s figures underline the scale of the challenge we face. I know people are worried about the security of their jobs and incomes.” Despite this, online retail sales, manufacturing and house building showed signs of recovery.
Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, said that, despite economic recovery, he is worried about UK jobs. In a speech yesterday, he explained that “We are seeing the economy come back now somewhat, because obviously the restrictions are beginning to be lifted. But there’s a long way to go, we are very worried about jobs, as are a lot of people.”
