BOE’s Haldane: UK economy on path to rapid recovery

In an op-ed in the Daily Mail on Saturday, Bank of England (BOE) Chief Economist Andy Haldane still maintained its view that the British economy was on the path to rapid recovery.

Key quotes (via Reuters)

“Economic activity in the UK is not falling like a stone. In fact, it has now been rising for more than three months, sooner than anyone expected.”

“While shops remain shuttered, people turned to online shopping and sales rose over 70%, leading retail spending levels to recover to pre-pandemic levels.”

“GDP is expected to rise by over 20% in the second half of the year.” 

“The economy has been rising an average of about 1% per week.”

“While that leaves activity well below pre-COVID levels, the UK has already recovered perhaps half of its losses.”

“The recovery in jobs would take longer but the risks to jobs have receded as spending and business confidence had picked up.”