Closing post
Time to recap…
Britain’s economy unexpectedly eked out growth in the final three months of last year.
UK GDP rose by 0.1% in Q4 2024, thanks to a 0.4% rise in activity in December.
The better-than-expected data dampened fears that the UK was on the brink of recession. But, chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was “still not satisfied” over the pace of growth.
The GDP report also showed that the economy shrank on a per capita basis, meaning that living standards have declined in the last two quarters.
Here’s the full story:
The UK’s competition regulator has pledged to “drive growth and investment” and speed up its decisions after pressure from the government to be more pragmatic and less risk averse in its investigations.
The oil price has dropped after Donald Trump declared that he and Vladimir Putin were ready to discuss peace talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ukraine government bonds strengthened in value.
Trump is also expected to another round of tariffs today from the Oval Office.
The president made the news in a brief message on Truth Social:
NEWS CONFERENCE ON RECIPROCAL TARIFFS TODAY, 1:00 P.M., THE OVAL OFFICE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
UK GDP: the key charts
Here’s a chart showing how UK economic growth picked up in December:
And here’s a breakdown showing the main sectors of the economy:
