UK economy expanded in February with end of lockdown in sight

A fast rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has raised hopes of the economy bouncing back this year and in 2022.

The United Kingdom’s economy grew by 0.4 percent in February from January as companies prepared for the lifting of a third coronavirus lockdown, according to official data which also showed a partial recovery in post-Brexit trade with the European Union. Economists polled by the Reuters news agency had expected growth of 0.6 percent. However, the data also showed that the fall in gross domestic product (GDP) in January was not as severe as previously estimated, down by 2.2 percent compared with the initial reading of a 2.9 percent drop.