As reported by the OECD, there is a forecast that this year the UK economy will outpace that of Japan, Italy, and Germany. The UK economy has expanded at a strong pace; it took a joint second position among the G7 nations and only the USA was ahead.
The last statistics show that the OECD has increased growth assessment for the UK to 1.1% in the next year which it had estimated at 0.4% in May. The UK is geared up to recover from a mild recession that occurred towards the end of the last year. UK’s economy is projected to grow at 1.2% in 2025. It is now projected to overtake Japan, Italy, and Germany, bringing it closer to Canada and France.
According to the growth forecast, there are still negative inflation issues in terms of concerns for the UK. Under OECD projections, this is marginally greater than the realized figure of 2.2% for August. Inflation for 2024 is expected to be at 2.7%, and it will be the maximum amongst the G7 nations. For 2025, by a secured rate that will stabilize at 2.4%, household financial burdens will go on accumulating.
According to OECD chief economist Álvaro Pereira, he was surprised to see the strong recovery done by the UK. During a period when business investment has been low, the country’s consumer spending has been above forecast. Increase in wages together with controlled inflation could be positive factors in building consumer confidence and spending.
Pereira also talked about fiscal responsibility and compared by saying that the same way debt needs to be within limits, there is no reason why austerity has to be draconian. In fact, the OECD said that most of the European countries are very similar in their reconciliation of necessary fiscal responsibilities with growth.
The central banks are providing support through low inflation and low borrowing costs for the world’s economy. Both have driven on-going momentum as the world recovers from massive shocks inflicted by COVID-19 and geopolitical events such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an OECD report said.
According to the OECD, world trade has staged a revival, but, on the other hand, it has reported that pressures remain pervasive on logistics. The ports across Asia have been saturated by the rising tide of volumes in shipping which has led to a whopping 160% year-on-year surge in container costs. Food inflation, likewise, remains a concern, though also eroding poor households’ purchasing power, too.
