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The UK economy expanded at a faster pace than expected in the fourth quarter of 2021, data from the Office of National Statistics showed Thursday, despite the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Gross domestic product expanded 1.3% quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of last year. The figure topped the previous estimate, which showed 1.0% growth.
The revision means that the UK economy actually ended last year larger than it was two years earlier, before the emergence of Covid-19.
‘The level of GDP is now 0.1% below where it was pre-coronavirus at quarter 4 2019, revised from the previous estimate of 0.4% below,’ the ONS said.
In the third quarter, GDP had risen 1.3% on a quarterly basis.
Annual GDP growth for the quarter was bumped up to 6.6% from 6.5%. In the third quarter, it had risen 6.9%.
For the whole of 2021, GDP is estimated to have risen 7.4%, down from a previous 7.5% estimate. The ONS said this was due to a revised 9.3% decline in 2020, with previous figures showing a 9.4% fall.
The strong fourth quarter came despite a difficult end to the year. The emergence of the Omicron variant put pressure on the UK economy. GDP fell 0.2% monthly in December.
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