Ukraine war puts UK economic recovery at risk
UK growth bounced back in January as the effects of the Omicron Covid wave began to subside, but Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned the economy faces uncertainty because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the latest Office for National Statistics, the economy grew by 0.8% in January this year compared with a 0.2% fall in December.
But an industry body has told the BBC the UK could be hit by recession due to the Ukraine war’s further impact on already steep cost of living rises.
Suren Thiru, of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the risk of a recession in the UK by exacerbating the already acute inflationary squeeze on consumers and businesses and derailing the supply of critical commodities to many sectors of the economy.”
The UK economy recovered back in January, with wholesaling, retailing, restaurants and takeaways performing well.
While supply chain issues continued to affect some sectors, construction and manufacturing both grew, the ONS said.
Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics, said computer programming and film and TV production also had a good start to 2022.
“GDP bounced back from the hit it took in December due to the Omicron wave and is now 0.8% above its pre-pandemic peak,” he said.
“All sectors grew in January with some industries that were hit particularly hard in December now performing well.”
Sunak said Russia’s ongoing assault on its neighbour “is creating significant economic uncertainty”, but “it is vital that we stand with the people of Ukraine to uphold our shared values of freedom and democracy and ensure Putin fails”.
And he added the Government had “provided unprecedented support” throughout the pandemic, “which has put our economy in a strong position to deal with current cost of living challenges.”
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