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Inflation-Hit UK Faces Recession After Economy Shrinks in August

© AP Photo / Matt DunhamA woman carrying a reusable shopping bag crosses the Regent Street shopping district, in London, Wednesday, May 18, 2022
A woman carrying a reusable shopping bag crosses the Regent Street shopping district, in London, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 - Sputnik International, 1920, 12.10.2022
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The pound fell sharply against the US dollar last week after Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng announced the government would borrow to subsidise gas and electricity bills for households and businesses. The Bank of England was forced to buy up government bonds after a market run threatened to bankrupt many pension funds.
New figures show the British economy shrank in August — prompting fears of a recession amid the energy and inflation crisis.
Data published by the Office of National Statistics on Wednesday showed a 0.3 per cent contraction.
The report also revised July's reported growth rate down from 0.2 per cent to 0.1 per cent.
The news prompted economists to warn that the UK was heading into a recession — defined as two consecutive financial quarters of 'negative growth'.
Yael Selfin, chief economist at accountancy and consulting giant KPMG, said the UK was "teetering on the edge of recession".
"The ongoing squeeze on household finances continues to weigh on growth, and likely to have caused the UK economy to enter a technical recession from the third quarter of this year," Selfin said.
"August's negative out-turn should be followed by a more marked drop in September's output as the extra bank holiday for the Queen's funeral will have added to the downwards pressure on activity," said Suren Thiru, economics director of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
The Bank of England also warned of a likely recession when it raised interest rates by half a percentage point on September 22.
London Stock Exchange Tower and the Bank of England to the left - Sputnik International, 1920, 22.09.2022
Energy Crisis in Europe
Bank of England Raises Interest Rate by Half a Point as Recession Looms
The pound sterling — along with the Euro — fell sharply against the US dollar last week after new Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed the government would borrow heavily to subsidise gas and electricity bills for households and businesses.
The Bank of England was forced to buy up government bonds after a market run on the debt certificates — known as gilts — threatened to bankrupt many pension funds.
Thiru warned that any boost from the energy bail-out was "likely to be dwarfed by a sustained squeeze on UK output from persistently high inflation, punishing interest rate rises and acute financial market turbulence."
Energy and other commodity prices have soared thanks to Western sanctions and import bans on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine. The resulting inflation — now running at around 10 per cent — has sparked a wave of strikes as employers' pay offers fail to keep up.
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