Britain’s economy grew by a record 7.5 percent last year on easing Covid curbs after a pandemic-driven collapse, official data showed Friday, but analysts warned that sky-high inflation clouds the 2022 outlook. The expansion, which was the fastest since records began in 1948, followed a record 9.4-percent slump in 2020, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) added in a statement.
Economies across the world were slammed in 2020 by the deadly pandemic, which sparked lockdowns and other public health restrictions that have since been largely removed. The ONS added Friday that the UK economy increased by 1.0 percent in the fourth quarter despite the emergence of the Omicron Covid variant, matching its expansion in the third quarter.—AP
