Despite a rising inflation rate and an ever-increasing cost of living crisis, it is still thriving.
According to the Office for National Statistics, GDP increased 0.5 percent over the month. This marked a significant turnaround from April’s revised fall of 0.2pc.
This was largely due to a strong rebound of health services, as GP appointments jumped 15%, despite the shrinking Covid vaccines and test and trace programs.
These figures cast doubt on economists’ hopes that the UK economy would contract in the second quarter. However, they also ease worries about a recession later in 2018.
Analysts warned however that the economy is not yet out of trouble and could see a further drop in living standards as the energy price cap rises again later in the year.
As a result of a sharp rise in energy costs, which was fueled by Russia’s war with Ukraine, inflation soared to a 40-year high of 9.1pc. This led to price increases across the economy. It is expected to reach a peak of 11pc by October.
As petrol and diesel prices reached new records, motorists were also left with eye-watering bills at the pumps.
The Bank of England faces the difficult task of trying to balance efforts to reduce inflation by increasing interest rates while not causing the economy to go into recession.
