The UK economy will flatline later this year, the British Chambers of Commerce has said, adding to several warnings about a big fall in consumer spending caused by high inflation.
The BCC’s latest quarterly report for Britain says economic growth will stagnate in the second and third quarters before contracting by 0.2 per cent at the end of the year as soaring consumer prices hit households.
The slowdown will cause annual GDP growth to fall to 3.5 per cent this year, down from the 7.5 per cent expansion recorded in 2021 when the economy rebounded strongly after the pandemic. “Our latest forecast indicates that the headwinds facing the UK economy show little sign of reducing with continued inflationary pressures and sluggish growth,” Alex Veitch, director
