UK economy to expand at its quickest pace in decades this quarter – Reuters poll

According to the latest Reuters poll, the UK economy is expected to rebound at the quickest pace in decades this quarter, as it has reopened following a nationwide shutdown induced on account of the coronavirus pandemic.

Key findings

“Almost 85% of respondents, 32 of 38, thought the outlook for the British economy had stayed the same or worsened over the past month, with only six saying it had improved.

The economy was expected to expand 12.2% this quarter, the July 13-21 Reuters poll showed, better than the 10.5% recovery predicted last month.

This year, the economy was expected to contract 9.1%, the median in the poll of over 70 economists showed, and then recover to expand 6.0% in 2021. In a worst case scenario it will shrink 13.0% this year.

The bank rate will not rise until 2022, but an additional 70 billion pounds ($89 billion) will be added to the BoE’s existing 745 billion pounds quantitative easing programme toward the end of this year.”