The United Kingdom's economy experienced a moderate deceleration in its growth rate during the second quarter of 2024.

Official data released on Thursday indicated that the economy of Britain experienced a growth of 0.6 percent during the April to June period, reflecting a modest deceleration compared to the 0.7 percent growth recorded in the first quarter of the year.

The nation has been on a path of economic recovery following a mild recession at the end of the previous year, aided by a decline in inflation from its four-decade peak.

This data pertains to the timeframe just before the general election held in early July, which culminated in a victory for the centre-left Labour party, who campaigned on a platform aimed at significantly enhancing the country's economic performance.

“The new government is under no illusion as to the scale of the challenge we have inherited after more than a decade of low economic growth and a £22 billion ($28 billion) black hole in the public finances,” finance minister Rachel Reeves said Thursday in reaction to the latest gross domestic product figures.

“That is why we have made economic growth our national mission and we are taking the tough decisions now to fix the foundations, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”

Weak June

The GDP data revealed also that the economy recorded zero growth in June, or end of the second quarter, owing “to a weak month for health, retailing and wholesaling, offset by widespread growth in manufacturing”, noted Liz McKeown at the statistics office.

She added that growth across the quarter “was led by the service sector, where scientific research, the IT industry and legal services all did well”.

The Consumer Prices Index increased to 2.2 percent in July, surpassing the Bank of England's target, as reported by official data on Wednesday.

However, this figure remains significantly lower than the heightened levels observed in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Consequently, analysts anticipate that the central bank will continue to reduce interest rates in the upcoming months.

Additionally, separate data released this week indicated a decline in Britain's unemployment rate to 4.2 percent, while wage growth has reached its lowest point in nearly two years.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government has announced plans to stimulate the economy through extensive house-building initiatives and a commitment to double onshore wind energy by 2030.

Meanwhile, Reeves has cautioned that the nation's public finances are facing an additional £22 billion deficit inherited from the previous Conservative government, which is likely to lead to tax increases when she presents her first budget later this year.