Economic growth is expected to “grind to a halt” this year before falling briefly into negative territory, a business group is warning. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said global events continue to weigh heavily on the economy as it downgraded its expectations for growth for 2022 to 3.5%, from a previous 3.6%.
The BCC said it now expects inflation to reach 10% in the final quarter, “comfortably outpacing” average earnings growth. Business investment is set to be hit, with 1.8% growth predicted this year, down from 3.5% in the previous forecast, said its report.
BCC director of policy Alex Veitch said: “Our latest forecast indicates that the headwinds facing the UK economy show little sign of reducing, with continued inflationary pressures and sluggish growth. The war in Ukraine came just as the UK was beginning a Covid recovery, placing a further squeeze on business profitability.
