United Kingdom: Recession Strikes as GDP Hits -20.4% in Q2

(13 August 2020) COVID-19 induced lockdowns hammered economic activity in the United Kingdom during Q2, sending GDP growth to -20.4 percent. It is the largest slump of any major economy so far during the COVID period. The economy shrank 2.2 percent in Q1.

• While May and June showed promising growth in GDP of 2.4 and 8.7 percent, respectively, as the UK government eased the lockdown across the country, the growth was insufficient to compensate for heavy earlier monthly losses. 
• In comparison (when the same measure of GDP growth is applied), the United States economy shrank by only 10% in the second quarter. Read more here.