The UK economy is set to contract this year yet avoid a technical recession due to the changing global developments and support measures taken by the government, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said in his budget speech on Wednesday. The Office for Budget Responsibility, also known as the OBR, forecast the economy will not enter a recession at all this year with a contraction of just 0.2 percent, Hunt said as he presented the spring budget statement in the parliament. A technical recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of output decline.
In the autumn statement in November, the government had forecast the economy to enter a recession last year and a 1.4 percent shrinkage in GDP this year.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.