The British economy contracted by 2.9% in January, which was better than expected

Official data released on Friday showed that the UK economy contracted by 2.9 percent in January compared to December, which is better than expected in a month that saw the country return to lockdown due to the Coronavirus.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a contraction of 4.9 percent.

The bank said the UK economy is likely to contract by 4% in the first quarter of 2021, mainly due to the recent shutdown, but also due to disruption caused by the new post-Brexit rules for trade with the European Union. Month.

“The economy suffered a noticeable impact in January, although less than expected, with the deterioration in the retail trade, restaurants, schools, hairdressers and businesses affected by the recent closure,” said Jonathan Atho, a statistician at Britain’s National Bureau of Statistics.

“The manufacturing sector also saw its first decline since April with a significant drop in auto manufacturing. However, increases in health services from vaccine launches and increased testing have partially offset the decline in other industries.”

The British economy contracted by 1.7% in the three months to January, a number better than the median forecast of analysts in a Reuters survey, in which the contraction was estimated at 2.5%.

The Office for National Statistics said the economy was 9.2 percent lower compared to January last year.

(Information written by William Schomburg; edited by Alistair Smoot; translated by Thomas Cobos)