Government response 'crucial' as UK GDP nudges 1% higher in Q4 2020

Headline GDP falls 9.9% in 2020

Mike Sheen
clock • 2 min read

UK GDP was 1.2% higher in December 2020 as eased lockdown restrictions for the month helped to bring total growth for the fourth quarter of the year to 1% overall, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

The Q4 rise added to the 16.1% growth seen in the third quarter, but December growth remained 6.3% below pre-lockdown February levels and growth in the final three months of the year was 6.6% lower than the same time in 2019. With headline GDP falling 9.9% overall for the year, portfolio managers have said the government's response will be "crucial", especially in the context of the March budget, with ministers urged not to "prematurely choke off the recovery". The fourth quarter saw output rises for all the main components of the economy, with services, production and construction gr...

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