The UK economy shrank in the second quarter for the first time since the pandemic, driven by a decline in spending by households and on fighting the coronavirus.
The Office for National Statistics says gross domestic product fell 0.1% after an 0.8% gain in the first quarter.
A decline in COVID-19 testing and vaccinations as well as slower retail sales and the first drop in household consumption in more than a year were the biggest drivers.
UK inflation hit another 40-year high in June as food and energy prices continued to soar, escalating the country’s historic cost-of-living crisis.
The most significant contributors to the rising inflation rate came from motor fuels and food, with the former soaring 42.3% on the year, the highest rate since before the start of the constructed historical series in 1989.
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