Economics
U.K. Treasury Given Bleak View of 2021 in Independent Forecasts
A woman walks past a closed souvenir stall and government messaging on a telephone box on Oxford Street in London.
Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.K. Treasury has been presented with an increasingly downbeat outlook for the economy as it enters 2021, highlighting the challenge facing Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak as he tries spur a recovery and stabilize the nation’s public finances.
Independent forecasters surveyed by the government now expect growth of 4.5% this year, down from a previous estimate of 5.4%, according to a document published Wednesday. That comes on the back of a predicted contraction of 10.7% in 2020, raising questions about how long the economy will take to recover its pre-crisis levels.