UK economy falls into recession too

LONDON: Britain's economy fell into a

recession

in

H2 2023

, a tough backdrop ahead of this year's expected

for

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

who has promised to boost growth. GDP contracted by 0.3% in the three months to Dec, having shrunk by 0.1% between July and Sept, official data showed.
The fourth-quarter contraction was deeper than all economists' estimates in a Reuters poll, which had pointed to a 0.1% decline.

Sterling weakened against the dollar and the euro. Investors added to their bets on the Bank of England cutting interest rates this year and businesses called for more help from govt in a budget plan due on March 6.